Against All Odds
by Writeaboutus
Summary: It's been two months since the outbreak. Two months since anyone has seen or heard from most of their friends or family. The dead don't stay dead. The living don't live- They survive. Can a group of friends find their way to each other? Will feelings finally come to light? Against All Odds, they will find love. Not even the end of the world will stop them.
1. Days Gone By

**Small town just outside Waynesfield, Ohio**

Silence. Complete and utter silence encompasses the pair that walk down the empty street. Their footsteps echo off the old stores. The man could swear that it reminded him of the 50's. Not that he was old enough to have even lived in the 50's, but he imagined this is what it would look like.

The old ma and pa stores closed for business. The windows yellowed with age. It had been quite some time since this small town had seen any kind of business. It hadn't been... lively... in months.

No matter how quiet they tried to be, and they had perfected the art of stealth, every move they made sounded like a gun shot. That's how quiet this town was.

Gun shots wasn't something they heard often. Not that they hadn't each scavenged up a gun, but they had learned not to use them. When they did hear shots fired they moved in the opposite direction. As far away from the sound as possible. Gun shots or any loud noise, really, drew _them_ near.

The man had only shot his gun twice. The woman, once.

They spotted their destination just ahead. The man pointed out the old station wagon halfway on the curb. The doors wide open. The owners must have left in a haste.

The woman nodded, her eyes scanning their surroundings, just in case. No one was around, not for miles.

The man approached the vehicle and removed the gas cap. Setting the canister he had been carrying all day on the ground. He reached into his backpack and pulled out a coiled hose. Cut to just the right length they needed.

Each of them wore a backpack. That's what their lifes belongings had dwindled down to. Every item in that bag. You could tell a lot about a person by what they carried around with them now a days. Not that they ran into many people to begin with. Or any for that matter.

They tried to stay away from anyone. Everyone is a potential danger.

"I'll take this one." The woman tells the man, dropping to her knees in front of the car. She uncoils the hose and sticks it into the gas tank, arranging the other end to reach her lips.

She puffs up her cheeks and begins to syphon from the tank. Her partner, smirking at her position from where he leans against the car. He is supposed to be on the look out, as unnecessary as it is, but instead he looks down at the woman in amusement. Her position mimicking a very compromising one.

"Used to being on your knees, aren't-" The woman looks up and glares at the man.

"Not today Puckerman." The man waves a dismissive hand at her and crosses his arms. Instead opting to look straight ahead.

"It was too easy anyway." The man, Puckerman, sighs. He was more of a boy really, at the age of 18, he was forced to grow up. Doing things he would have never imagined himself doing, all at the cost of surviving and keeping his friend safe.

The tank starts to fill, leaving the girl to sit back on her legs until every last drop is in the red canister. She too, was at the mere age of 18, but the sights she had seen over the last 2 months had aged her way beyond her years.

"There's a convenience store, just down there. Want to check it out?" The boy asks as the girl shakes the last remnants of gasoline from the hose. She looks up at the direction he points to and coils the hose.

"Looters had to have gotten to it by now." The girl hands Puckerman the hose. He looks at her hopefully, putting away the hose in his bag.

"I don't know, this place seems pretty untouched to me." The man tries, hoping to persuade his friend. The woman takes a look around at her surroundings once again. Her face gives off no emotion, no indication to what is possibly going through her mind.

She had to agree, this was the first town they had wandered in that didn't have vehicles congesting the streets. No broken glass settled on the sidewalks. No bodies littered the ground. It was almost eery. Like a ghost town.

"It couldn't hurt to look around." It wasn't that the woman normally called the shots, but ever since they had passed a hospital not two days prior she had been in a foul mood. Puckerman could understand, that was why he was willing to have his friend call the shots for the time being.

"That's what I'm talking about!" The man exclaims enthusiastically. His friend can't help but crack a smile. They reach the end of the store and set the gas tank down. Pulling out their guns. They had become pros at clearing areas. Who would have known that those long hours of playing Call of Duty would have actually come in handy?

The partners walk into the store cautiously. Both with their weapons out, a flash light in each of their hands. They couldn't concentrate on the items on the shelves just yet. They had to make sure the place was secure.

"Clear!" The man yells from the opposite side of the store.

"Clear!" The woman echoes back.

"Rachel, are you looking at all of this?" Puckerman asks in awe. As far as stores had gone, they had just hit the mother load.

They had been to many stores, none of them contained nearly as much as the one they were in now. And this store was tiny. Sure, some of the shelves had been emptied, but for the most part, supplies were everywhere.

"Amazing!" Rachel breathes, the first genuine smile lights up her face. They hadn't ever been this lucky. Batteries, flash lights, food, and water.

"Should I bring the jeep around?" Puckerman asks, not being able to contain his excitement, stuffing his backpack full of beef jerky and slim jims. He hadn't had it in months.

"No, but we need something to help us carry as much as we can." Rachel didn't like bringing the jeep into towns. The engine was already loud enough, bring it into a small place surrounded by buildings, the sound would echo off every possible surface it could. And it would leave them trapped if they were ever surrounded.

"Man, you gotta love hicks! Wooh!" Rachel can't help but be curious at her friends excitement. She follows the sound of his voice to behind the cash register. He holds up a shotgun above his head like a prize.

"You can't be serious!" Rachel gasps, holding her hand out for the gun. "Noah, you're a genius" The man smiles at the praise, he doesn't get it much these days. He hands over the gun and continues to rifle around behind the counter. Not much ammunition, but it would do.

"Do you think other stores have guns?" Rachel asks as Noah empties out the cash register. Rachel never really understood why he always takes money. It's no use to them now. She figured it was a way for him to hold on to their past. She had once asked him, why. He had simply shrugged and stuffed the green into his pocket.

"Good kindling." Was his answer.

"There might be." Puck replies, an air of excitement surrounds the man. "Should I bring the jeep around now?" Rachel bites her lip and shakes her head.

"No, but we'll gather as many bags and fill them with what we need and leave them outside. Then we'll go look around for more weapons THEN we'll both bring the jeep around and load it up."

"Sounds good." That's why Puckerman doesn't come up with the plans. Rachel uses logic over convenience. It has kept them alive this long.

* * *

**Findley, Ohio**

They walk down the crowded highway. Making their way through the vehicles left behind. Her stomach growls loudly. They hadn't found any food yet. Bodies? Yeah, but they all head bullet holes in their head so they didn't have anything to fear.

"Find anything yet?" The Latina woman calls out, running a hand over her empty stomach.

"Nothing all that useful." The boy answers. It was the end of the world and he still tried his hardest to always look his best.

They didn't stray too far from each other. They were all the other had left. Not that before the incident they were all that close. In fact, Santana knew that they weren't even friends before the incident. The boy had been tossed in a dumpster. He had been teased and humiliated by her and all of her friends.

There had been a moment, when Santana finally admitted that she was in love with _her_ that she and her traveling companion had finally seen eye to eye. They both understood what it felt like to be on the receiving end of a disgusted look. A look thrown at you simply because of who you chose to love.

"Wait! I think I found something!" Kurt calls out. His ass is sticking out of the passenger side of a prius. Santana rushes over to him, her stomach driving her every move.

"Here!" Kurt tosses her a small red bag, Doritos! Santana does not hesitate to rip it open and wolf down the chips.

"Is this a...?" Kurt lets his question trail off as he presents the new item to Santana. He looks at it like it is the holy grail.

"Holy shit it's a radio!" Santana is momentarily distracted by the new item. She's done with the chips before she would like, and even takes extra measure to lick the excess cheese flavor left on her fingers.

"This whole car has great stuff in it." Kurt informs Santana. There are quilts, some camping gear, and underneath all of it a whole lot of processed food.

Santana can already see the idea forming in her friends eyes.

"You're Latina right? You can hot-wire this car." Kurt asks her excitedly. Santana scoffs and reaches her hand into the back seat, pulling out a twinkie.

"That is the most racist thing I've heard come out of your mouth." Santana says around a mouthful of Twinkie. Kurt grimaces.

"But you can, can't you?" He prods. They only thing Kurt and Santana had to call their own was the clothes on their backs and a knife in their pockets. They had been wandering around for quite some time, hoping to maybe find more people. Hoping to run into friends. Or anyone, really.

"That's such a stereotype." Santana dismisses. Kurt looks at her expectantly, so she nods "But yeah, I can totally hot-wire a car. Want to know the best part though?" Kurt listens excitedly. Santana makes her way to the drivers seat and turns the key in the ignition.

"I don't have to hot-wire anything." Santana grins. Kurt claps excitedly and climbs into the vehicle.

"This is perfect! It doesn't use up that much gas. It's quiet! what more could we ask for?" Santana reaches her hand into the back seat, this time pulling her hand back to find a snowball.

"We need to ration that stuff." Kurt tells her, but allows her to eat the marshmallow treat.

"I'm starving" Santana argues, spewing coconut all over the wheel. She puts the car into reverse and gets out of the highway.

"This car may not use much gas, but there isn't much in here to begin with." Santana taps on the display panel, hoping that somehow it would magically create more gas.

"How far can it get us?" Kurt asks, indulging his growling stomach by grabbing a bag of funions.

"Depends on where we want to go?" Both of them know where they want to go. They were both missing their significant other. And if there was one place they knew they could find, it would be back home.

"Lima it is, then." Santana agrees, without having to hear one word from Kurt.

"I think we deserve air conditioning, don't you?" The had been traveling in 80 degree weather, of course they deserved it. But Kurt was usually the on who made sure they would ration the few items they could find, so of course if Kurt was suggesting it, Santana was going to go for it.

"Hell yes!" Santana turns up the AC to full blast, while Kurt turns in his seat to see what other goodies he might find. He isn't disappointed when he finds a pack of water bottles on the ground behind his seat.

"We have never been this lucky." Kurt tells Santana, handing her a warm water bottle. At this point neither of them care, they're just thirsty.

"Maybe our luck is about to change." Santana says optimistically. And she isn't the one to be optimistic, so Kurt can't help but feel that way too.

* * *

**Farm miles from Lima, Ohio**

Rachel found the crackling of the soothing. She had once been too scared to start a fire, afraid that those _things _would find them. But Noah seemed to have figured it out. They always drove for a good couple of miles into a secluded area before starting a fire. Noah lays on the ground, gazing up at the stars, a slim jim hanging precariously from his mouth. Rachel couldn't have asked for a better person to be stuck with when the end of the world came. Sure she would have preferred someone else, but that's the thing about the end of the world, you don't get a choice.

"I know what you're doing." Rachel speaks out, grabbing the attention of her friend. Noah turns his head to look at her, slightly confused.

"I'm eating. Want some?" Noah holds out the slim jim. Rachel wrinkles her nose. She's had to adapt to the new world. That meant no more vegan diet. Rachel knew that when it comes to self preservation, you must be willing to do anything. Eating meat was an unfortunate part of that.

"No thanks, I still don't like those things." Noah tosses her a bag of beef jerky. This she could stomach a bit easier. Those beef sticks were too meaty and greasy.

"What I mean is, I know you're taking us back home. Ever since we saw that hospital. I appreciate it, but we don't have to." Every fiber in Rachel's being is telling her to shut up. Ever since Lima had been evacuated they hadn't gone back. She just needed to know for sure that she wasn't alive. She needed that closure.

"I'm not only doing it for you." Noah tells her, turning his head again to look at the stars.

"I need to know for sure too." Noah had also had a special bond with her. Sometimes Rachel would forget. It was always about how Rachel felt. How much Rachel missed _her. _ How much _she_ meant to her. Rachel almost had a sort of claim on _her_, she often forget _she_ was loved by many.

Rachel pulls her backpack to her and rifles through it. Pulling out a radio she and Noah had found at a police station a month ago.

"Give it a rest for tonight, no one's out there." Noah sighs, he too was tired of not hearing a response.

Rachel ignores her friend and clicks the radio on. Only static cackles through the speakers. She teaks a deep breath and holds down a button.

"This is Rachel Berry speaking. It's been a long time since I and my partner, Noah Puckerman have come into and human contact. Living humans. We are calling out to any other survivors. If you're out there, let us know." Rachel releases the button, waiting for a response. The silence crackles. She tries a different station every night. Tonight it's 3.

"This is Rachel Berry speaking. Is anybody out there?" Once again, she releases the button, anticipating another voice. Noah groans in frustration and turns to look at Rachel.

"Give it a rest!" He growls at his friend.

"I repeat: Is anybody out there?" Rachel lets the static play for another 30 seconds before she decides to click it off. Just as she is lowering the volume a voice breaks through.

"Berry?" Noah sits up quickly, hoping he hadn't just imagined it. He was almost certain he recognized the voice. Rachel too, look shocked, she twisted the volume all the way up, hoping to hear it again, but they only hear more static. They both wait with bated breath.

"Holy Shit, Berry is that you?" The radio rings loud and clear. Both Rachel and Puck recognize the voice.

* * *

**Lima general. Lima, Ohio.**

The morning air is stiff and subtle. The empty hospital shows no life. Not even the moaning and groaning behind a chained door represents life.

Few lights flicker int the otherwise dark hospital. The only light that filters in comes from the windows.

Most doors in this particular wing of the hospital are wide open. All except for one. It is barricaded with a gurney and chairs.

Behind the door lays a woman in a bed. For anyone who isn't paying close attention, she presents herself to be another dead body that litters the hospital. The shallow rise and fall of her chest proves otherwise.

Eyes snap open in panic to reveal brilliant hazel irises. A gasp is sucked harshly into her lungs.

She's finally awake.

* * *

**So, I was kept awake by another Midnight thought last night. We can all blame The Walking Dead for that.**

**Who doesn't love a good zombie fic? I know I love them.**

**This is going to be a lot like the Walking Dead. It will follow some of their story lines and have some of my own. And it will be as merciless with killing off characters as it is on the show. So a big Character Death warning throughout this fic.**

**What do you think?**

**Reviews are very much appreciated :D**

**Have a great week - A**


	2. Next Move

**Warning: Character death.**

* * *

**Somewhere between Cindersville and Harrod, Ohio**

The feet trudge through the ground, dragging themselves through the dirt. One foot sports a tennis shoe. The other is bare. The way they drag themselves shows that they've lost their will to live.

They do seem to have a destination in mind. They're headed for something or someone.

They haven't lost the will to live. They are no longer alive. This person is no longer a person. Half of it's organs are spilling out through a gaping hole above it's belly button. It's skin is gray and caked with dirt and blood. Eyes trained and focused on it's opposite just ahead.

The blonde stares at the undead curiously, tilting her head at it. Wondering if she recognizes the face.

The undead senses the new source of food. It can smell the blood running through the blondes veins. Growls and groans start emanating from the decaying body. It's advancing towards her a bit faster, but the blonde doesn't move. She just gazes at it, trying to figure out where she had seen that face before.

The decaying body reaches out a grimy hand, and just as it is about to swipe at the girl-

WHAM!

A baseball bat strikes the undead right across the temple. The body doesn't go down at first.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

The bat connects to skull three more times spraying the dirt with brain matter.

"I think that was Kirstin Warner from homeroom." The blonde explains, looking down at whats left of the face.

"Really Britt? You have a death wish?" Brittany's savior asks, out of breath.

"I wasn't going to let her touch me." Brittany holds up her own weapon: a hockey stick. "It's just nice to see people I knew once."

"Not like this." The woman wipes the sweat from her brow, rolling her bat across the moist grass just a few feet away from the body. Wiping the blood from it.

"I was just making sure, Tina. It won't happen again." Brittany promises, looking a bit guilty. Tina sighs and looks back at her bubbly friend.

"I just worry for you. I know you don't like hurting anything." Tina explains, picking up the duffel bag she had dropped in her haste to make it to Brittany.

"I don't like to, but I know when I need to."

"What the hell happened?" A males angry voice booms.

"Oh shut up Sam." Tina says, annoyed.

"Why did you let that zombie get near you?" Sam asks in a worried tone, he looks over Brittany thoroughly, placing his hands on her shoulders to check her over. What he sees satisfies him. He checks over Tina in the same manner.

"Don't call them that. You sound like a child." Tina dismisses him.

"It's sure as hell a lot more creative than 'walkers'. What would you prefer? Undead? Geeks?" Sam asks rhetorically. "Let's go."

Brittany and Tina follow Sam's lead. He waves them over, trying to get them to hurry. They make their way into an RV.

"I checked the top of the windmill. There's a small group of them headed our way. It could be just them, but I'm not taking any chances. Let's get out of here." Neither of the girls argue. Instead tina walks over to the small sink and washes her hands.

"Were you able to empty us out and fill us up?" Brittany asks, taking the passenger seat.

"Yup, full on water and gas. And empty of other... excrements."

"Where to now?" Tina asks, standing between her two friends.

"I'm thinking we need some weapons." Sam tells them. Brittany lifts up her hockey stick questioningly.

"Real weapons." Sam smiles, looking over at a map. "And I know just the place" On the map is a red circle, just outside of Lima, labeled military base.

* * *

**McKinley High theatre, Ohio**

The doors are barricaded and chained shut. Only one entrance can be opened, and three different keys are needed. The doors shake and rattle, threatening to give in at any moment. Growls and guttural moans can be heard behind them.

A trail of blood leads down an isle to the front of the stage where a boy sits, rocking back and forth. The seat creaks, but he pays no mind to it.

The boy sobs, wiping at his hands, trying to rid them of the blood that stains his skin. The blood that stains his whole being. Not only his clothes and face, but also his soul.

At his feet are a pair of driving gloves and glasses. Tears spill onto them as the boy continue to sob.

Somewhere in the halls of McKinley is an empty wheelchair, and Blaine Anderson doesn't know where hell he went wrong.

* * *

**McGuffey, Ohio**

"Wake up" A woman walks over to the men sprawled out on the floor, asleep. "Up" She kicks the mens feet with her boot. One of the men sits up with just that, the other needs a bit of extra effort. So the woman dumps a water bottle over the still asleep man.

"What the hell Mercedes?" The man splutters, shooting up.

"It's hot, consider it a free cool down." Mercedes tells the man who is busy wiping at his face.

"Mike, you mind going for a run today?" Mercedes asks the man who isn't pissed at her. He laces up his boots and shakes his head.

"I've actually been thinking. You guys remember that military base right outside of Lima? I'm wondering if it's a good idea if we check it out? Get some radios, weapons maybe." Mike suggests, both Mercedes and their companion look skeptical.

"I know what you're thinking Finn, And you've kept us alive so far, but I think it's worth the risk. We need a way to communicate with others."

"If there are any others." Finn mutters.

"We can't be the only ones." Mercedes agrees, leaning towards Mike's suggestion.

"Look, We'll set up a stereo. I'll hook it up to a couple of batteries. Lead all the geeks away. Then we'll go and check it out. They have to have some of those MRE's. We can get food water, some real supplies." Mike has made his point, he knows he's already won them over.

"Ok, but we draw them out first though." Finn bargains. "Then we make our move. We only have glorified sticks and knives. We have nothing to defend ourselves with."

"That's why we're going. We need to protect ourselves." Mike tells them.

"I'll get the truck ready." Mercedes heads out of the boarded up house they had been holed up in.

* * *

**Lima General, Lima Ohio**

Hazel eyes search around the room. She doesn't know why, but she can feel something is wrong. Quinn turns her head, expecting to see her mother. Or Santana, or Puck, or Rachel. She vaguely remember seeing them, but not being able to talk, or even move.

How long had she been out? Was she able to stop the wedding? Did Rachel and Finn get married?

Quinn sits up in her bed, sore.

"Hello?" She calls out in a raspy voice. She just now realizes how dry her mouth is. How sore her throat feels. Probably from lack of use. Had she been in a coma? Didn't they say that people in comas could still hear and see everything?

That would explain the vague memory of Rachel Berry crying over her in a wedding dress.

"Nurse!" Quinn calls out again. Why isn't anyone here?

Wait a second, could she wiggle her toes? Were her toes wiggling? Yes! She could feel her legs!

Maybe hearing the doctors say she was paralyzed was just a dream. Quinn looked around at the monitor. Nothing was on. Nothing was beeping. What the hell was going on?

She rolls to her side, suddenly very aware of the open sores on her back. Someone must have forgotten to move her around. Open sores occurred on backs of patients who were in coma's.

She tears the sheets off of herself and swings her legs off the bed. Quinn makes a move to stand, but her legs gave in. Too much weight, too fast.

"NURSE!" Quinn tries again, she's frustrated now. The hospital staff around here is just plain lazy. Quinn begins tearing off anything and everything connected to her. IV drips, heart rate monitors. Everything. She needs it all off.

Slowly, she's able to bring herself to her feet and walk into the bathroom. She hunches over the sink and turns on the faucet. Quinn gulps greedily at the water. Not until she is uncomfortably full, does she step away. And still her thirst isn't quenched.

She decides it's time to alert the hospital staff of her status, face to face. Quinn pushes at her door, but it only slightly gives. She tries again, a bit harder. Something is blocking her door.

"Are you kidding me?" Quinn mutters to herself. She heaves one more time and finally has created enough room to squeeze through the small gap. As soon as she exits, she wishes she hasn't. Something is clearly wrong.

There was a gurney pushed up against her door, along with some chairs, only now Quinn knew it wasn't to keep her locked in. It was to keep something out.

The lights in the hospital flicker ominously. Some lights dangled from the ceiling. Papers litter the floor, and there are splatters of blood. What on earth is going on?

This isn't another one of Sue Sylvesters tests is it?

"Anyone out here?" Quinn meant to sound braver, but she realizes that she just sounds like a scared little girl. And in this moment, it's exactly what she is.

She wanders down the deserted hallway a bit further. Praying to God that someone is around to help her. She peers through one of the doorways, and right there on the ground is the mangled body of a nurse. Quinn turns to her side and vomits all of the water she had just consumed.

What is going on? Was she mauled by some type of animal? Quinn decides against continuing on that way, so instead she heads in the opposite direction.

Quinn finds herself in front of a door. And the cynical part of her wants to correct the unfortunate labeling of the door. She had to read it twice just to understand it.

_Don't Dead Open Inside_

No that isn't right.

_Don't Open Dead Inside_

That's the option that makes more sense. Then suddenly it's like whatever is behind the door wants to get to Quinn. Something growls behind the door. The door pushes forward, it startles Quinn so much she falls back on her ass. When fingers sneak in between the opening and start rattling the chains, Quinn scurries back and hops to her feet.

She finds her way to the elevator. She knows that pressing the button is futile, but she tries anyway. Instead she takes the stairway. It's pitch black and the air is stale.

"You're not afraid of the dark." Quinn whispers, and she isn't, but this is all so bizarre she's starting to rethink her fears. "You're not afraid of the dark." She repeats it like a mantra as she blindly finds her way down the stairs. She makes it down two flights when she finds the exit.

The light is blinding at first, Quinn can't even make out her hands in front of her, shielding away the light.

Again, Quinn regrets making her way out. Her heart sinks in her chest and her stomach drops.

Something bad has happened.

It's the sight that brings on the scent that assaults Quinn's senses.

Bodies line up the ground, side by side. Arranged neatly. White sheets covering them. Then it seems whoever was in charge of disposing bodies got lazy. Piles and piles of bodies everywhere. She tries not to panic, she really does.

Quinn doubles over, heaving. She has nothing in her stomach to empty, so she just gags. When she is able to pull herself together she lets her bare feet drag her across the Hospital parking lot. A helicopter is on the front lawn, bodies still lie in it.

Quinn tries to set a point on the horizon. She's not even sure where she is headed, she thinks it might be home.

The cement is hot, and scraping her feet raw, but she trudges on. Just another injury to add to the list. Raw feet, sores on her back, empty stomach, and clearly a psychotic mind.

Somehow, she finds her way home. As soon as she enters the doorway, she collapses to her knees. Wailing.

This is all just a dream. She is still in a coma. Still at Lima general. She would wake up and find Santana and Puck bickering about something unimportant. She would squeeze Rachel's hand back, and finally tell her how she felt. She would wake up and say she was on her way to her wedding to stop it.

She wasn't here. All of those people weren't dead. This wasn't actually happening.

"MOM! Quinn wails from the ground, curling her arms around herself.

"Help me!" She cries "Somebody please!"

No one helps her. She is completely alone. And as far as she knows, she is.

* * *

**Just outside of Lima, Ohio.**

"We didn't just make it up, right?" Rachel asks Noah for the 15th time.

They had been waiting on a secluded property some of the McKinley high Seniors would disappear to on Senior ditch day. They would take kegs of beer and have parties until the sun came up.

"No, we may be nuts, but not that crazy." Noah says from her lap. Rachel sits on the ground, Noahs head in her lap, a bandana shielding his eyes from the sun. They were waiting patiently for their contacts to arrive.

They don't even hear the vehicle pull up. Rachel is too busy running her hands over Pucks hair, it has grown out and no longer sports a mohawk. Puck is too busy falling asleep.

"Puck, I would have never thought I would be happy to see your ugly mug." Noah shoots up at the name. He hasn't been called by his nick name in months.

Him and Rachel spring up to their feet. Santana and Kurt stand before them.

The four of them run two each other like magnets being pulled together.

Santana runs straight for Puck, jumping into his arms. Her legs wrapping around his waist as he spins her around, laughing.

Kurt and Rachel crash into each other similarly. Only they are both a sobbing mess.

"Oh my God." Kurt cries, petting Rachel's hair. Rachel cries into his neck, but laughs at her friends exclamation.

"You don't believe in God." Rachel emits a watery laugh

"Well some sort of deity brought you to me." Kurt squeezes her tightly and pulls away to properly examine her.

"You're here, you're really here." He whispers.

"Kurt you son of bitch!" Puck pulls Kurt into his arms and claps him on the back.

Rachel wipes at her eyes, turning to look at Santana. At one point they almost considered each other friends. Spending time in that hospital room waiting for Quinn to wake up had forced them to bond.

"Berry." Santana whispers her name like a prayer. Rachel smiles and takes steps towards her. Santana takes Rachel's face in her hands. Examining her like a painting, trying to catch a blemish or scar on her. She finds scars, but they're in Rachel's eyes. Santana has them too. Two months trying to survive in a hopeless world can do that to a person.

They both smile at each other and finally wrap each other in their arms. Santana allows herself to cry for the first time in months, and she breaks down in the arms in a girl she used to hate.

When Santana pulls away, looking embarrassed and wiping at her eyes, she looks to both Puck and Rachel for answers.

"Have you come in contact with anyone else?" Santana asks, Kurt wraps an arm around Rachel also waiting to hear the answer.

"No. Have you?" Puck answers. Kurt shake his head.

"We did see Mike briefly when they were first evacuating the school, but we lost sight of him when they stuck us into those busses. Our bus crashed. Santana got me out. We haven't seen anyone since."

"We saw-"Puck begins, his eyes flashing towards Santana. Rachel cuts him off with a glare.

"You saw what?" Santana asks, catching on to Rachel and Pucks exchange. Rachel contemplates it for a moment. "I can take it, please. Just tell me."

"Noah and I ditched school to go see Quinn at the hospital." Rachel chokes on the name. Not having spoken the name aloud in months. She turns and hides her face in Kurts neck.

"Shit hit the fan when we were there. They wouldn't let us see her. They told us she was being evacuated if she wasn't already gone. They told us all of Lima was being evacuated, to go home to our families." Puck continues for Rachel.

"I didn't listen." Rachel speaks up. She wipes at her eyes and looks at Santana.

"I broke through and went to her room. We tried to get her out. Your dad" Santana perks up, tears again appearing on her face. "He saw us trying to get Quinn out. He told us to go to our families. He would keep Quinn safe."

"Walkers burst in. We had no idea what to do. So your dad- He helped us. We put a hospital bed and some chairs against Quinn's door. He told us it would keep them away from her. Then he told us to run." Puck looks down at the ground guiltily. Tears stream down his face as well.

"Puck tried to stop him. He tried to take him with us. He wouldn't. They were coming right for us. And he- he" Rachel chokes back on her words, Santana breaks down in front of them, falling to her knees. Rachel moves away from Kurt and wraps a comforting arm around her crying friend.

"He saved our lives. He ran right to them and gave us the head start to get out of there." Puck wipes at his face.

Everyone still hopes that their family and friends are ok. That by some miracle their parents were still alive, waiting to hear from them. Santana had just received confirmation that her father was dead.

Once again Rachel finds herself consoling Santana. And better yet, Santana allows it.

"I'm so sorry." Rachel whispers to her. Eventually her sobs subside and Santana pulls away.

"He was a doctor-He saved lives. He died doing that. I'm-" Santana sniffs "I'm ok with that."

The four of them take a seat on the ground. Santana leaning her head on Rachel's shoulder. Puck hands out water bottles. Kurt hands over some more of the processed junk.

"What do we do now?" Kurt questions, munching on a bag of cheetos.

"Now that we've found each other, I know for sure." Rachel says, taking a sip from her water.

"Know what?" Santana asks her from her shoulder.

"That we aren't alone." Puck answers for his partner. It's scary how often him and Rachel are on the same page now.

"I think we know our next move." Rachel tells them.

* * *

**Here's another one for y'all. Like I said, I will be killing off characters mercilessly. And as for pairings for this story It will obviously have Faberry. Also Brittana, Klaine, Chang2, Samcedes, and some original characters with Finn and Puck, but again, no one is safe.**

**This story has got me really excited.**

**Love hearing from you guys.**

**-A**


	3. Triggerfinger

**Lima, Ohio**

She isn't sure how much time passes by when she finally picks herself up off the floor. Quinn knows. She feels it in every fiber of her being, that her mother is no longer alive.

It's maybe an hour into her sobbing that she realizes this.

Night falls when she realizes that no one is coming to help her.

The sun begins to rise when she finally starts to plan her next move.

She deliberates finishing her mothers stash of Vicodin with a bottle of her fathers 20 year old scotch. She even goes as far as setting them in front of herself on the desk in her fathers study. A room that had remained untouched after her mother had kicked him out.

She opens her fathers desk drawer, where she knows he hid his gun. She remembers a time when she had found it when she was younger. She had gotten in big trouble back then. Now, she is free to explore it. Feel it's weight in her hands. Take out the magazine. Check that there are bullets. Switch off the safety, and press it against her temple.

Her fingers tremble against the trigger. She squeezes her eyes shut and takes a deep breath.

No, she can't do it.

She drops the gun on the desk, letting it clatter against the aged wood. She rolls the chair back and heads over to her room. A place she had once considered her sanctuary.

Her hospital gown flutters against her skin as she enters her room. Someone forgot to close her window. Quinn rushes over to it, slamming it shut. She can no longer stand the stench of death that permeates the air.

She takes a seat on her bed, her hands softly run over the smoothness of her covers. What is she to do now? If she isn't going to kill herself, what can she do? Quinn didn't see a soul in sight as she walked home. Was she really the last person alive?

She finds comfort in her shower. She washes away the sweat and grime, lathering her favorite coconut scented shampoo into her blonde hair. The water is cold, but she finds it soothing against the sores on her back.

Feeling much better after her shower, she finally decides on a plan. And it doesn't consist in staying home.

Quinn stares blankly into her closet. What does one take when searching the ends of the earth for another living soul? Obviously not much. She settles on 3 pairs of spare underwear and socks. Nothing will budge those numbers.

Her heart aches to take one of her dresses, but in the end she knows it isn's sensible. She settles on a pair of jeans to wear. Jean shorts as well, and one more pair for her bag. Her backpack already feels half full. Quinn thanks herself for her rebellious phase, thinking maybe her black combat boots are best for this kind of situation. A plain white spaghetti strap and a white v-neck is decided for what she will wear. 2 extra spaghetti straps for her backpack, because they don't take up much room. And an extra t-shirt. It's not cold yet, but nights can get pretty chilly, so she packs her yale sweatshirt. One she had bought online when she found out about her early admission. What a joke.

Quinn stuffs her toothbrush and tooth paste into the small front pocket of her bag. It's almost full. She needs to choose her next items wisely. She decides her medicine cabinet is the wisest decision. Packing medical supplies she always imagined would be helpful when watching an episode of lost. A pretty rudimentary first aid kid is there for her taking. And before making her way down the stairs, Quinn enters her fathers study and slides the items she was going to use to end her life into the bag. The alcohol doesn't want to go in all the way, so the neck of the bottle sticks out, the pistol clinking against the glass.

Quinn goes to check her kitchen, hoping to find food. The cabinets and cupboards are barren. She is able to find her old red aluminum water bottle. White block letters spelling out 'cheerios' on the side. She positions her mouth under the sink for quite some time. She doesn't know when the next time she will encounter water will be.

Quinn exits her house, surprised to have found both her her garage and driveway free of vehicles. She guesses her voyage will be taken on foot.

She makes it 3 feet out of her door when she feels something in the pit of her stomach. It's unsettling. And doesn't leave her until she trades the water bottle in her hand for the pistol in her bag.

Now she's ready.

* * *

**1 mile from Military base just outside of Lima, Ohio.**

Sam parks the RV a good mile away from the gates of the military base. It had taken him longer than he would have hoped for to reach. Brittany had spotted a small grocery store that wasn't over run by zombies. He had to admit, the detour was necessary, but night fall was approaching and the thought wasn't comforting.

"We have to be in and out as quick as possible. There's no telling how much of them are in there. We stay in formation, and we don't lose sight of each other. If there are too many of them, we're out. Got it?" Sam instructs, already feeling his palms start to sweat and his heart start to race. He suddenly feels guilty for suggesting the run. If someone dies today, it will be on him.

"We know what we're getting into." Tina assures Sam. She can already see him talking himself out of it. They needed a way to protect themselves.

"If it's too much we'll leave." Brittany adds for good measure. Her hands tightening around her hockey stick.

The trio makes there way to the Military base, something is off though, if they listen carefully enough they can vaguely hear...

"Is that Don't Stop Believing?" Brittany breaks the silence, straining her ears to hear the music. The sound is a bit distorted by how much it echoes off the buildings, but their glee club anthem is unmistakable.

"the fuck?" Sam mutters, not sure how he feels about this. It's not exactly bad, but he's not sure what to make of it.

"Do we head back?" Tina asks warily. She's not sure what to think either.

"It's just music right? There's no harm in that." Sam says, but it sounds more like a question.

"Where is it coming from?" Brittany asks. None of them have stopped walking as they continue their way to their destination.

"Hard to tell, but I think we're heading away from it. It's almost like someone is trying to draw out the geeks." Sam contemplates the idea for a moment. Why hadn't he thought of that?

"Does that mean there are people over there?" Tina asks, an edge to her voice. She has all the reason to be scared. They had encountered one other group in the past month, and they hadn't been the friendliest of folk.

"We'll find out soon enough." Brittany is the one who answers, they reach the wired fence. Tina cuts it, and they make it through, surprised to see that there really are no walkers around.

Their relief doesn't last long though.

BANG!

A gunshot whizzes past them, just barely nicking Sam's ear. The trio drops to the ground.

"DON'T SHOOT!" Brittany yells, hoping that maybe who ever had shot at them thought they were walkers and not humans.

"Shit!" Sam brings his fingertips to his ear, it doesn't hurt much, but he is spilling blood. The smell of blood combined with the sound of the gun shot... the day was not going as planned.

* * *

**Military Base, Lime Ohio**

"I have never been so thankful for stereotypes" Mike cheers excitedly. They had made it to the base last night and had hooked up a cd player to a speaker system, connected to a whole bunch of car batteries. Journey was starting to get on his nerves, but his plan had worked. It had drawn the walkers out of the area. Suddenly being a technologically savvy asian didn't bother Mike.

"There is so much food here." Mercedes utters in awe, loading up the bed of the truck with boxes upon boxes of MRE's. Empty canisters are also being loaded, just in case they find a water source. And not to mention the weapons. They had everything from explosives, which only Mike was allowed to touch, to foldable shovels, cots, knives and an assortment of guns and ammunition. Finn loaded it all up. Along with a couple of army issued rucksacks.

"It's like christmas!" Finn exclaims excitedly. He pulls out an older looking rifle and looks through the scope.

"I see 3 walkers. Should I take them out?" Finn asks, spotting them, headed straight for him and his friends.

"Let me just load up the last of these boxe.s" Mike tells him, pointing to the last 3 boxes. Finn nods, he racks the gun and looks through his scope again. They were definitely headed their way.

"All loaded up." Mike tells him, latching the back of the truck. "Go ahead." Mike and Mercedes lean against the truck, observing Finn. He takes a deep breath and aims for the blonde male.

BANG! the gun slams back right into Finns nose.

"Fuck!" Finn curses as blood begins to spurt out his nose.

"DON'T SHOOT!" A familiar voice calls out. Finn doesn't catch it. Too busy hunching over in pain. Mike and Mercedes however, freeze.

They know that voice.

* * *

**Just outside of Lima, Ohio**

People never realize how useless personal bubbles are until after the world has ended. People spend most of their lives complaining about strangers or even friends touching them. Complaining about that skin on skin contact.

Once the world has ended, personal space no longer matters. Cuddling is no longer for pansies. When you think you are never going to see another living soul again, you learn to cherish that skin to skin contact. Even if you do not harbor any romantic feelings to the person behind the skin you are touching.

Rachel can no longer sleep unless a pair of arms are wrapped around her. Every night she and Puck slept like that, taking shifts to who would be awake, but they would hold each other into the night. Even Kurt and Santana had taken to sleeping right next to each other.

So now that the four had found each other, they had no qualms about throwing the idea of personal space out the window. All four of them had never been so happy. They had full bellies, plenty of water, and the comfort and love of friends.

Kurt and Santana sit side by side, his head on her shoulder. Rachel fell asleep with her head in Santana's lap, as the Latina runs her fingers through the brunettes hair. And Puck had also fallen asleep. His pillow: Rachel's stomach.

"Should we wake them up?" Kurt asks his partner gently. Santana shakes her head, continuing to run her finger through the singers hair.

"Not yet. I'm not sure why, but I think they've had it worse than us." Santana admits, not usually one to admit someone is stronger than her.

"You see it too?" Kurt questions, offering a bit of beef jerky to Santana. The girl doesn't use her hands to grab the meat, instead she opens her mouth wide for Kurt to feed her.

"Yeah, like maybe they've had to do some really terrible things." Santana tells him. Kurt hums, like he had figured out as much.

"You think any walkers will find us?" Kurt yawns, watching his friends sleep in the middle of the day was suddenly making him tired.

"Out here? No." Santana also yawns, her back leans against firewood, a sleeping bag had been draped over it for comfort.

"Would it hurt if we all took a nap?" Kurt asks, already closing his eyes.

"Don't think so." Santana whispers, leaning her head on top of Kurts. Fatigue takes them over. Feeling the safety in numbers. And the comfort in friends.

* * *

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio**

Jake isn't sure when the power had fallen on his shoulders. When people started turning to him for leadership. He is only 16, but they all seem to think he is the leader of the 'group'.

Interstate 70 had been jam packed. There was no way around. Jake had already lost sight of his mother, so he had nothing else to lose. He took a hold of his girlfriends hand. And started to hike up the state park. He had always heard there was a great view of the city form up there.

Jake hadn't even realized people were beginning to follow him until a kind man with his slightly manic girlfriend offered him and Marley a ride in his clunker of a car. Soon enough, a small line of cars made their way up the state park.

They all took camp there, literally. It took a week or so, but soon silence surrounded them. They aren't sure where all the people on the interstate were taken, but most guessed their fate.

They had been camped up their for 2 months now, the responsibility beginning to take it's toll on him.

"Hey Jake, we're running low on supplies. We're thinking we might have to make a run into the city in a few days." Will Schuester, the man who had offered Jake the ride that first day, tells him.

"Hmm? Oh. Yeah. Kitty going alone again? or is she allowing a team this time?" Jake asks, eyeing his blonde friend from across the small fire in front of him. The fires were only allowed to reach a certain height, any larger and they could be spotted.

"Fine, I'll take people. But I get to choose." Kitty mutters, standing up and taking a seat right next to Jakes girlfriend.

"I'll go." Marley volunteers. Jake freezes at the very thought of his girlfriend offering to put herself in danger.

"No way blue eyes." Kitty negates. Jake had found this friendship puzzling at first. Kitty was cold and cynical and sarcastic. Marleys complete opposite. Yet they had become each others best friend in the past couple of months.

"Why not?" Marley asks quietly, she knows why not though. Kitty and Jake will never let anything harm her.

"Don't force anyone. Only take volunteers." Jake reminds Kitty. He won't have anyones blood on his hands.

"Duh." Kitty rolls her eyes.

"How long until we're out?" Kitty asks Will. It's Will's fiancé, Emma, that answers.

"3 days, 4 at the most, if we skip meals." Emma is good with keeping things organized and rationed. So she's in charge of that.

"That gives 3 days for people to man up and volunteer." Kitty says to no one in particular.

They'll have to spread the word around camp. In total there is 38 people. 3 small families. Siblings. Strangers. All looking to survive. All looking to a 16 year old for guidance. What the hell is Jake supposed to do?

* * *

**Hope you guys liked it!**

**Reviews are appreciated -A**


	4. Run Joey Run

**Military base just outside of Lima, Ohio**

"Should we get up?" Brittany asks in a hushed voice from the ground. Tina, jumps over, half of her body on top of Brittany's now.

"NO!" Both Sam and Tina say.

"They stopped shooting." Brittany says in a calm and measured voice. It's strange to think that the supposed dumb blonde of McKinley High is always the one who keeps a cool head when things start to go wrong. And not only had things gone wrong, they were about to get a whole lot worse with the smell of blood fresh in the air, and the sound of the gunshot pinpointing them to their location.

"Because they can't see us." Tina hisses.

"Hello?" A familiar voice calls out from the direction the bullet came from. Tina freezes at the voice. It wouldn't be the first time she hallucinated that voice, but the fact that her companions also hear it...was a first.

"It's a trap!" Sam reaches for Tina, hoping to grab a hold of her arm, but she's already on her feet. Scanning for the source of the voice. She finds it, not 50 yards ahead of her. Her knees want to buckle at the sight of Mike Chang. Instead she drops everything and lunges over the sandbags they had taken refuge behind with the precision of an olympic medalist.

"Tina?" Mike calls out, not sue if he's just imagining his girlfriend or if she's actually there. He doesn't react until Tina crashes into his arms, forcing them back a few feet from the collision. Mike Chang doesn't lose balance, so they don't fall to the ground, but he's so shocked he can't even manage to wrap his arms around Tina.

"Mike it's really you!" Tina sobs into her boyfriends neck. This is when Mike finally responds, he pulls out of her arms and examines her, just to be sure. Then he crashes their lips together.

"Mercedes?" Sam's broken voice calls out just beyond the reunited couple. Mercedes had been watching the scene with complete and utter surprise. She hadn't even taken notice to Brittany and her boyfriend approaching them.

Mercedes does not take as long as Mike to react, in fact tears are already streaming down her face when she pulls Sam into her arms. Sam, like Mike, doesn't take a moments hesitance to kiss his girl.

Brittany watches the scene happily. She knew that they were not the only ones left. She walks over to Finn and smiles at the man with the bloody nose. Finn seems to have forgotten his injury, because he too watches the reunion with happiness.

"I'm not going to kiss you." Brittany teases Finn. Finn turns to look at her and grins, pulling the cheerleader into his arms and holding her tight.

"You're bleeding." Mercedes takes notice to her boyfriends ear. She turns bright red with anger and advances towards Finn.

"You idiot! You almost killed Sam!" Mercedes punches him a few times.

"Ow! I thought they were walkers!" Finn flinches away from Mercedes.

"You are an idiot!" Sam punches him a lot harder than Mercedes.

"Ow I'm sorry I-" Sam cuts him off and points behind them.

"Not because you almost killed me. The walkers are headed our way now!" Sam yells, not afraid to raise his voice. The undead already know their position. No need to be quiet now. Brittany rips the gun out of Finns hands and aims it toward the first undead making its appearance.

"Careful Britt there's a-" Finn starts. Brittany fires the gun, a headshot straight to the zombies head.

"A kick back." Finn finishes weakly. Brittany racks another bullet into the chamber and looks over at her friends.

"What are we waiting for?" She questions them a bit urgently. She may have taken 1 down, but 30 yards behind it another 3 appeared from behind one of the tanks. And only more would make their presence known.

"Finn, Mercedes, Tina. Get into the cab of the truck. Brittany, Sam, and I will hold onto the back." No one hesitates to take Mikes orders, the sweet reunion cut short.

Sam and Mike reach for a couple of automatic weapons, and hope that they can figure out how they work before any of the Zombies gets too close.

Finn screeches the car forward, almost sending Brittany tumbling to the ground. Mike is quick and is able to grab her before that though.

"Take the safety off." Brittany says in thanks. Mike looks over at the switch and nods, Britt is just full of surprises today.

"Go faster!" Sam yells, more walkers are approaching, and fast. The racket they are making alerting them that there is food nearby.

"I can't! We're too heavy!" Finn yells back from the open window.

Sam is the first to fire of his weapon, showering 2 zombies with bullets. 2 that were getting too close for comfort.

Just as they are making it to the perimeter gate around the base a zombie comes out of nowhere and runs for Mercedes window. Mike takes it down easily, but the reality of the situation is they're moving too slow on the truck. What with all the supplies they grab. Brittany trades her rifle for a gun similar to Mike and Sams.

"How fast can you run?" Brittany asks Mike. She knows that Sam can hold his own when running away from a hoard of zombies.

"I'm fast." Mike assures her.

"We need to get to the RV!" Sam yells, Brittany is already 2 steps ahead of him, handing a gun to both Finn and Mercedes.

"Tina circle them around the other way and take them to the RV. Lead most of the walkers away from us, we'll make for it from here!" Before anyone can protest, Brittany, Mike, and Sam hop off the moving vehicle and make a run for the RV.

Finn begins to incessantly honk the horn, leading most of the walkers away from them.

A group of them do breakaway, finding the three on their feet to be an easier catch. They're closing in fast, and they still have about half a mile to the RV. Their feet crash against the pavement, praying that their legs will have enough strength to get them there in time.

"Shit! I'm out!" Sam yells when his gun makes a dull clicking sound. He has to swing his gun at the head of a zombie to knock him away.

"You didn't grab an extra clip?" Mike huffs. Running on an empty stomach is really starting to take it's toll on him.

"No! Did you?" Sam curses himself for being so careless. Mike shakes his head, but Brittany is already handing him her extra. She had been astute enough to think ahead, even when a hoard of dead people were chasing after her to eat her.

"We're almost there!" Brittany wheezes, this is easily her fastest mile ever. Coach Sylvester would be proud.

Her stomach drops when she realizes there are at least 10 zombies waiting for them at the RV. Who knows if any of them got inside. The feeling in her stomach only worsens when she realizes she's out of ammo.

"I'm out!" Brittany calls out, just as a geek grabs at her shoulder. Brittany lets out a piercing scream alerting her friends of her predicament. Sam turns around and fires his gun instinctively, not realizing that he isn't only shooting the zombie, but also his good friend.

In that moment everything moves in slow motion for the ex McKinley high students. Sam's heart seems to shatter at the realization of what he has just done. Mike watches from a few paces ahead, tears already filling up his eyes. And Brittany, all she can think in that moment as the bullet skewers her side and zombies approach her is one name. A single name and a face: Santana.

Brittany falls to the ground, clutching at her side. Giving Sam the opportunity to spray the rest of the undead behind them with bullets. He manages to get them all, then tosses his gun aside.

"Shit shit shit!" Sam falls on his knees, still very aware that he is in danger. Bullets rapidly continue to fire. He knows Mike hasn't stopped shooting at the undead. He is clearing the zombies that surround the RV.

"Sam." Brittany chokes out in pain. Sam looks up, more zombies are headed his way. He isn't going to leave her behind. So he scoops her up into his arms, despite her screeches of pain.

"CLEAR!" Mike bellows, and sure enough, surrounding the RV are bodies.

"Take the wheel!" Sam orders, just as the truck with his friends is rounding a corner. He kicks the RV door open and climbs the steps.

"Where to?" Mike asks in a strained voice, he saw Brittany go down. He turns the key in the ignition, sending up a small thanks that the RV turns on.

"Away from here!" Sam yells setting Brittany down carefully on the ground. Brittany writhes in pain, smearing her blood all over the floor of the RV. Sam tries to put pressure on it, but her cries of pain make it impossible for him to touch her.

Between the chaos and the blood being spilled in front of him, Sam doesn't hear the unmistakable groan of a zombie right behind him.

* * *

**Lima, Ohio**

Quinn isn't sure why she finds herself in front of the Berry residence. It's not like she's going to find Rachel in there. Part of her sill holds hope. She finds her way up the porch steps, only to find a dog lying patiently on the front steps. From the looks of it it's a labrador retriever. Or just a lab. Quinn's not sure she knows the difference.

Did Rachel have a dog? The dog lifts his head at the sight of Quinn, but he doesn't seem threatened. Quinn takes this as a cue to approach it.

"Hey boy. What are you doing out here? Or are you a girl?" Quinn coos, finding comfort in speaking to the first living thing she has encountered. Quinn reaches for the collar of the dog and reads the name tag. _Joey._

"Anybody home?" Quinn asks the dog, Joey simply watches her curiously. His tail wags a little, but he makes no other movement.

"When's the last time you ate buddy?" Quinn questions the dog. His ears perk up a bit.

"Food? You hungry boy?" The dog lifts up his head, his tail wags a bit more.

"Yeah, me too. Lets go inside." Quinn is struck with her second piece of luck for the day (the first being Joey) when she finds the door open.

Quinn wanders into the kitchen first. Her priority now being Joey, she'll take a look around next. Quinn fills up a bowl she finds with water. Joey eagerly drinks from it. He finishes the bowl and looks like he may want more, but Quinn decides food should be the next step. She's once again disappointed when she finds nothing but a can of beans.

"We'll split it." Quinn tells the dog. She opens the can and splits it evenly between her and the dog.

"Better than nothing right?" Quinn finds a spoon and digs in, but Joey is already done with his share.

"Lets go check this place out." Quinn tells her new companion. Joey seems to be a bit more confident around Quinn now. Seems she has won over his loyalty with half a can of beans.

Quinn stops in front of Rachel's closed door. Every time so far that Quinn has wanted to get out or get in, she has been met with bodies. She isn't sure she wants to take the chance this time.

"I was in love with her." Quinn blurts out. The first time she ever admits her feelings and it's to a dog. Possibly the dog of the girl she is in love with.

Joey stares up at Quinn expectantly, waiting for her next move. His tail wags, and his tongue lolls out the side of his mouth.

"Don't look at me like that. You don't know what I've been through. What if she's dead behind this door? What then?" Joey takes a seat, gazing upon her curiously.

"I know, I know. It's better to just know for sure, right?" Quinn takes a deep breath and closes her eyes. She wraps her hand around the handle and swings it open.

"Is it clear?" Quinn asks Joey, not expecting a response. To her surprise Joey enters the room, she can hear his paws padding across it, and then barks twice. Quinn opens her eyes, and sure enough, it's clear.

"Rachel has you trained well." Quinn comments, stepping into the room. It's not her first time in Rachel's bedroom. The fiasco of Rachel's party had been her first time. She had snuck away from the drinking to get a glimpse of her room.

"I never told her how I felt." Quinn admits, taking a seat on Rachel's bed. Joey follows her lead.

"I told you not to look at me like that. I didn't tell her because- It doesn't even matter now. It all seems so stupid." Joey hops off the bed and sniffs around the room. He jumps up to the window and barks. Quinn walks over to investigate.

There's a man in a suit, limping down the street. Quinn doesn't hesitate to run down the stairs after the man.

"Wait!" She yells. The man stops in his tracks. Joey is at Quinn's side, growling and barking.

"Sir, what's going on?" The man turns around, and from sheer surprise Quinn falls back. This is no ordinary man. His jaw hangs off his face, and his eye is hanging from his socket. Now that Quinn has gotten a better look, his ankle is definitely broken.

The man advances towards Quinn. One word comes to mind: Zombie. Quinn's mind flashes back to the body of the mangled nurse in the hospital. The thought is absurd, but Quinn doesn't wait to find out. Instead she jumps up to her feet and runs in the opposite direction, the gun in her bag long forgotten.

Joey stays behind, growling at the man. Quinn almost forgets the dog entirely, but she hears the bark and stops. She can't just leave Rachel's dog to die. She whistles loudly.

"Joey! Come on boy!" That's all the dog needs to hear to turn around and follow Quinn.

Quinn's breath catches wildly in her throat, but her feet meet the pavement faster and faster, running in fear. Joey is loyally at her side. He follows her all the way to the doors of McKinley High.

* * *

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio**

Will and Jake sit next to each other, mulling over ideas of creating signs to put along I-70. People go to Columbus expecting a refugee center. What they find instead is an army of undead, looking for a bite of human flesh.

"I got some volunteers." Kitty doesn't mind interrupting their conversation. She has never been too fond of Will.

"Do they all know the risks?" Will asks, even Jake has to roll his eyes at the question.

"Of course they do Moron. They are going out there to risk their lives for you. Are you willing to do the same?" Will looks a bit embarrassed, he isn't brave enough.

"You shouldn't speak to your elders-" Will begins, but Kitty won't have it.

"Age doesn't matter these days. If thats your only currency, you won't last long. Who cares how old you are? Age doesn't feed all these people. I do." Kitty is not holding back. She is never known to hold back.

"Alright alright. Calm down. Will I need to talk to Kitty." The way Jake says it makes it very clear that he isn't asking. It's a command. It's these days that Schuester misses the respect of being a teacher.

"Alright, who's going?" Jake asks once Will has left. Marley has noticed them and decides to join them. Taking a seat on the ground next to her boyfriend.

"I am." Marley tells them defiantly, but they pay no mind.

"Ryder said he wants to go." Kitty tells them carefully. Jake still considers the man his best friend, but he made a move on Marley a few weeks back and things have been more or less strained between them.

"Alright, who else?" Jake nods.

"Karofsky, Jim, Maggie, and Paul" The name Paul comes out in disgust. He isn't exactly well liked in the area. He's racist, for one, and just down right unpleasant. Jake doesn't know Jim all that well, but he has a family in the camp, so he guesses he'll want to provide for them. Karofsky is nice enough, but mostly keeps to himself. And Maggie is always sweet to everyone, but she was raised in the south so she is one of the few people who brought weapons to the group.

Weapons are something that are hard to come by. They only had 3 guns. Jake had one, he rather not say how he got it. And Maggie had the other two. Looters came by one time. They took all of their food, and even killed some of their people. Ever since then Jake had taken extra measure to ensure his group looked lethal whenever new people approached. Everyone had a role to play. Most women stayed hidden, unless they had slutty outfits. The children were kept out of sight. And themen, especially the bigger ones, were always presented towards the front when visitors arrived.

It had warded off people ever since then.

"I'm going." Jake tells Kitty. Kitty laughs again, as if Marley had suggested the idea.

"Sorry J, but if you die, I am not letting Will take this over. We're not taking the chance. Besides, you know what to tell people if looters come by." Kitty's right. He is the leader.

"We're going." Kitty is taken aback to see that the volunteer is Will, and apparently Emma.

"I'm not a coward. I'll go. It's about time I pull my own weight." Kitty isn't sure if she likes the idea. He might only get in the way.

"And I'm not letting him go without me." Emma squeaks. Kitty likes Emma a hell of a lot more than she liked Will.

"Fine. We leave in 2 days at dawn. Be ready." Kitty sighs.

"If people die, It's not on me." Kitty growls. She stands and wipes the dirt off her pants.

"No, I think it may be on me." Jake sighs.

* * *

**And Another one!**

**Let me know what you think.**

**-A**


	5. Shot

**Outskirts of Lima, Ohio**

Beads of sweat roll down her neck slowly. The heat outside is stifling hot. The worse kind of dry heat that you can't escape. Rachel wipes at her neck with the back of her hand. The other uses an old playboy magazine Puck had kept 'for old times sake', to fan her face.

Santana sits next to her, on the hood of the white prius. She too fans herself, only she uses the car manual. Puck emits a low whistle.

"You two look like the worlds sexiest toyota commercial. Shit I would have bought a prius if you two had been the faces of it." Puck leans against the Jeep and admires the view.

"It's too hot for your shit." Santana complains, wiping at her forehead.

"So since we're heading out on this mission to find survivors, where do we find these people?" Puck asks, tossing them each another bottle of water. They were going through them fast in this heat.

"Columbus maybe?" Kurt suggests. Rachel and Puck whip their heads in his direction.

"NO!" They say at the same time. Santana arches her eyebrow at the pair.

"We need to ration these." Santana tosses back a water bottle and shares with Rachel instead. "What's wrong with Columbus?"

"Like two weeks after the infection spread, we went to Columbus searching for the refugee center. The city was overrun with walkers." Puck explains, tossing Santana's bottle into the Jeep.

"We barely made it out alive." Rachel adds, a haunted look crosses over both her and Pucks faces. Kurt and Santana don't miss it, but they don't make note of it either.

"I've actually been thinking, I mean since we're so close. Why not Lima?" They can all hear the hope in Santana's voice, because they can all feel it too.

"I agree." Rachel adds.

"Me too." Kurt too wants to know if he can find the people he loves.

"It's settled then, Lima it is. Sun sets in a couple of hours though. I'd feel better if we had more daylight on our side." Puck used to be the careless kid who did things without thinking. Now lives were at stake, he never takes any chances.

"I think Pucks right." Santana agrees, then puckers her face in disgust. "Those words tasted horrible."

"So Lima first thing in the morning?" Kurt asks, just to make sure.

"Sounds about right." Puck agrees. "What do we do in the mean time?"

Rachel's face breaks out into a grin. She walks over to the Jeep and rummages around in the trunk pulling out a bottle of cheap vodka.

"Damn Berry, you've changed!" Santana hoots.

"You'll find the end of the world has really loosen me up." Rachel tells them, slowly opening the bottle. "I was saving it for a special occasion. This seems pretty special." Rachel tosses the cap aside and takes healthy gulps from the bottle. She pulls away coughing and grimacing.

"Rachel, you are my new favorite." Santana cheers taking the bottle from Rachel and following her lead.

* * *

**McKinely High, Lima Ohio**

Quinn doesn't slow down until she reaches the front doors of her high school. Joey stops right next to Quinn, licking her hand when she doubles over to catch her breath.

"What the hell was that?" Quinn wheezes out of breath, maybe she's crazy for talking to a dog. Joey is her only friend at this point though, she'll keep talking to him even if he doesn't talk back. In fact she'll only start worrying for her mind when Joey starts talking back. For now, it's completely normal.

As Quinn ran away form the zom... whatever that thing was, she realized she was headed towards McKinley for one reason specifically. Or she should say, she was headed for the choir room.

"You think she's in there?" Quinn asks the dog, he simply waits patiently for their next move. "Alright, lets go." Quinn is just about to open the door, but she hesitates. Joey stares her down, almost daring her to go through with her thoughts.

Quinn strips her backpack off and pulls out her father gun. If she encounters another one of those _things_ again she'll at least feel prepared. Even if she doesn't know if she'll be able to pull the trigger.

Wandering down the empty halls of McKinley, Quinn feels out of place. She's not used to this feeling in these halls. Unlike the hospital, lights don't flicker, it's just complete and utter darkness. Papers, binders, and backpacks scatter the ground. And blood, so much blood. The walls groan, only Quinn isn't sure it's the walls.

Joey growls, only he seems to understand that it is of upmost importance to keep quiet. Quinn pats the top of his head.

"What is it boy?" The hair on the back of Joeys neck stands. He bares his teeth, but no one is around.

"It's ok boy, we won't be here for long." Quinn assures the dog. They both quietly make their way down the hallways until they reach the choir room.

The piano is knocked over on it's side. Chairs are thrown askew, the only thing that remains in its place is the piano bench. Quinn walks in and takes a seat on it.

"She's not here." Quinn whispers, more to herself than the dog. Joey sits in front of her resting his chin on her knee. Part of her knew it was a futile attempt.

Quinn looks down at the ground, tears forming in her eyes. As much as she loves having Joey for company, she wants human company. That's a lie, she wants Rachel.

A paper on the ground catches her attention. It's sheet music. _Keep Holding On._ Quinn releases a watery laugh. She bends over to pick it up off the ground. Quinn remembers Rachel singing that to her and Finn in the theatre.

The theatre!

Quinn stands so quickly blood she looses her footing.

"Lets go boy." Quinn tells Joey, heading out the door.

It doesn't take them long to get there. Quinn tries to open the door, eager to get inside. She didn't even notice the chains around the door. Someone is inside.

"RACHEL! RACHEL!" Quinn hollers, not bothering to worry about the consequences. Quinn slams her fists against the door. She doesn't register the growling until Joey backs up into her.

Quinn screams as soon as she faces the two ..._ things_. They're definitely people. Or were at least. Quinn extends her arms out, raising the gun. Joey starts to loudly bark at the two decaying bodies. One is wearing a cheerios uniform. Quinn almost recognizes the face, or she would, if half of it weren't gone.

Her hands shake when she removes the safety of the gun. She aims, but she can't bring herself to pull the trigger.

Those things are feet away when a bloodied hand reaches from behind her and grabs her roughly, pulling her into the theatre. Joey yelps, when he too is roughly yanked in.

* * *

**Miles from Military base outside of Lima, Ohio**

The RV screeches to a stop. The truck follows it's lead. Finn, Mercedes, and Tina rush out of the truck. They're about to rip open the door to the RV when Mike does.

"What the Hell happened over there?" Finn bellows angrily, the rest of his argument dies in his throat when Mike heaves something off of the RV and onto the ground at their feet.

One thud hits the ground first. Then another, not quite as loudly.

"What the hell happened?" Tina whispers brokenly, staring at the body.

A loud scream rips through the air and suddenly Mike jumps into action.

Tina and Mercedes rush inside, but Finn, he stares down at the decapitated head, still trying to snap away at something. He lifts his foot and brings down his heel on the skull. Effectively silencing the walker. He steps over the body and makes his way inside.

2 different kinds of blood splatters the ground. Bright red human blood. And the dark red blood of a walker.

"Finn, there's bleach under the sink! Get that shit cleaned up!" Sam roars from inside the small bedroom. Finn ignores the orders and makes his way into the room where he can hear Brittany.

"Is she bit?" Finn asks hoarsely.

"I said clean that shit up!" Sam roars, his dirty hands just about to reach into Brittany's bloodied side.

"STOP!" Finn yells so loudly even Brittany stops whining.

"Don't touch her with dirty hands. Is she bit?" Finn levels, the only one keeping a cool head.

"No. I- I accidentally shot her." Finally Sam breaks down, and starts to sob, not being able to cover his face with his bloodied hands.

"Mike you used to intern with your dad right?" Finn asks his friend. Dr. Chang was a vet.

"Yeah summers, but- but I can't-" Finn glares at him then looks over at Brittany writhing in pain.

"You can and you will. We are not losing her." Finn stomps his way to the sink and pulls out the bleach. "Mike c'mere! Tina you too! Mercedes stay with Brittany.

Mike and Tina follow Finn's lead outside.

"Do you guys have any medication of any sorts in there?" Finn asks calmly, unscrewing the cap to the bleach bottle.

"Nothing that can be useful. Did you guys grab anything like that at the base?" Tina asks.

"We were too busy with the weapons." Mike mutters darkly. Finn glances down at Mikes grimy hands.

"Wash your hands in the sink, get all of that geek blood off. Then get some bleach on them. Then wash them again. We need to stop the bleeding." Tina takes the bottle and pours some onto Finn's hands.

"Find whatever you have that can help Brittany. Then have Sam and Mercedes help you clean all of the blood, we don't want that anywhere near Britt. Now c'mon! Let's move!" Finn feels the soft burn of the bleach against his skin. He walks into the RV and rinses off the bleach and goes over to Brittany's side.

"Britt you listen to me. We just found you. You are not going to die on us alright?" But it seems Brittany can't hear him. He hates to have to put his friend in pain, but there is no way around it. He presses down gently but firm on the gunshot wound.

"Bullet went clean through. We saw it when we put her up on the bed." Mike tells Finn stepping up to the end of the bed.

"I don't know what to do." Mike confesses.

"We need to stop the bleeding. Stitching her up would be a good start." Finn tells his friend in a calm voice.

"I've got a sewing kit, gauze, and some bandages. That's it." Tina offers apologetically.

"Sterilize it." Mike instructs his girlfriend. Tina walks over to the stove and runs the needle over the flame.

"San!" Brittany moans. "San!" She cries. Sam stops cleaning the floor and rushes over to her side.

"I'm right here Britt." Sam assures her.

"No!" Brittany cries.

"She wants Santana." Finn clarifies in a thick voice. "She - She wants Santana. And God dammit if Santana is alive and we let Britt die. We're all as good as dead."

"And if she's not?" Mercedes asks, also standing from cleaning the gore from the ground.

"WE ARE NOT LOSING HER! Tina! Wash your hands. We'll need you to hold her feet."

* * *

**Outskirts of Columbus, Ohio**

"Jimmy is sick." Marley tells Jake and Kitty as soon as she takes a seat next to them for dinner.

"Sick how?" Kitty asks warily.

"He didn't get bit, but he cut himself. I think he has blood poisoning. Aidan is checking him out now." Marley informs them, she looks saddened by the thought of a child being ill.

"Why didn't he tell anyone? Why am I just hearing about this?" Jake asks a little strained, he doesn't like being the head of the group, but he is.

"He just told his mom. He was afraid he'd get in trouble for playing with a knife." Jake nods, glad that it isn't because they didn't trust him.

"It is blood poisoning." Aidan tells them, taking a seat next to Kitty. The man is in his early 20's, a certified EMT. "I'm afraid it'll spread."

"So we move up the run for tomorrow morning." Kitty tells them, not even thinking twice about it. About the potential danger it can bring to her. Especially going into the city without a plan. That's why Marley knows her best friend is different. That she isn't just the bitch everyone thinks her to be.

"You aren't going in there unprepared." Jake argues.

"You can't order me around, dick. I have no other choice. I wait any longer... the kid dies. I'll go over a plan with the others." Kitty wipes her mouth free of the canned food she had been eating.

"You can't go without a plan." Jake argues again, trying to stand his ground, but he knows going head to head with Kitty is futile.

"A half assed plan is better than no plan at all." Kitty raises her arms, begging for him to argue. "I leave in the morning." Kitty lets them know.

* * *

**Thank you for all of the reviews!**

**I think I may be way in over my head with this story. The more I think about who has to die...the more I want to stop.**

**I won't though, because it is a lot of fun. And I read and write to feel something. Even if that feeling is sadness.**

**I love hearing from you all. Let me know what you think.**

**-A**


	6. Three Answers

**Just outside of Lima, Ohio**

The RV door swings open just as the last of the suns rays hides in the horizon.

Finn takes careful steps off the vehicle, his hands tremble, covered in the blood of his friend.

Silent tears slip down his face. He turns to the side and retches a few times. Not having to keep a cool mind, Finn is finally able to freak out. A soothing hand rubs circles on his back until he's done. Then it tries to hand him a water bottle.

"You and Mike did good Finn." Mercedes compliments, uncapping the bottle and bringing it to his lips. Finn's bloodied hands rendered useless at his side.

"Let's get you inside. Clean you up." Finn allows Mercedes to lead him back into the RV. Now free of blood. Brittany passed out from the pain about an hour ago, so it is completely silent as well.

"I may have gotten the bleeding to stop, but the stitches are bad. Luckily she has no internal bleeding, but I'm afraid of infection. I don't know if she'll last the night." Mike tells them, taking a seat next to his girlfriend at the small booth in the vehicle.

"Then what do we do?" Sam asks, the guilt thick in his voice.

"First, you stop blaming yourself. This stuff happens." Mercedes tries to tell him calmly. Sam won't take it though. He hides his face in his hands.

"This doesn't just happen. I shot her." Sam argues.

"Because you were surrounded by walkers." Mike reminds him. He was there too, he could have easily made the same mistake.

"We need to get Brittany medical attention. Now." Tina tells them, not willing to play the blame game right now.

"Geeks have taken over hospitals. We've been to a lot in this general area." Sam tells them, already feeling his blonde friend slip away.

"What about Columbus? Did you guys ever make it to the refugee center? We were headed that way at the very beginning, but it was impossible to get into the city." Mike asks the group.

"No, we never went. Sam always said big cities should be avoided." Tina tells them, and his argument had seemed logical at the time, but now Brittany's life was at stake.

"We have to risk it." Sam tells them hoarsely, even if his gut is telling him to stay away.

"I-70 is all clogged up, but we could make it in 3 hours if we leave now." Finn tells them, looking out at the dark sky. Traveling at night is always risky.

"I'll go up ahead with the truck, make sure there aren't too many walkers. Let me grab a radio for you." Finn hops off the RV in a hurry, not wanting to waste any more time.

"I'm going with him. We can't travel alone. Tina, you know how to drive this thing. You drive. Mike you and Mercedes should watch over Britt." Sam tells them, taking charge once again. He will not lose Brittany. It cannot be his fault. Mercedes pecks his lips, then retreats to the back to sit with Brittany.

"Alright channel 4. Let's keep the chatter to a minimum." Finn hands mike the walkie and looks around "But if you encounter any trouble let me know." Mike agrees.

"I'm with you man." Sam tells him, hopping off the RV and following Finn to the truck. They both grab a gun from the trunk and head for the cab of the vehicle.

"Dude if Santana is still alive..." Finn trails off, turning the keys in the ignition.

"I'm dead" Sam finishes.

* * *

**McKinley High Lima, Ohio.**

Quinn wants to scream again when she realizes who has pulled her in. For a second she thinks it's another one of those things out there, but this one seems more functional. Only slightly though, because as soon as he finishes locking up the place he takes a seat in the theatre and stares blankly at the stage.

Quinn takes in the boys appearance. He is covered in blood. Head to toe. It's splattered on his face. He stares blankly ahead, but his eyes don't seem to have the same glassy look those things out there do.

"Check if it's clear boy." Quinn orders Joey. Joey stares at the boy who saved their lives a bit longer, but he doesn't growl. Quinn takes that as a good sign. Joey walks up and down the isles of the seats.

"Blaine." Quinn calls out gently. He isn't responsive though. He's almost robotic.

"Blaine, are you alone?" Blaine's eyes flicker to look right at Quinn, then looks straight ahead again. Joey barks twice from the other end of the theatre. This breaks Blaine's focus again. His eyes follow Joey as he trots back to them.

"This is Joey." Quinn introduces carefully. Joey perks up at his name, wagging his tail and waiting expectantly to be showered with compliments and adorations by Blaine. Blaine simply stares at the dog though, not making any other movement.

Quinn isn't exactly sure what to do. She is over the moon to have found another living person, and for this person to be from her past is a huge bonus, but he isn't very responsive.

Blaine has been through something. Something horrible.

"Hey Blaine, why don't we get you out of these clothes and clean you up?" Quinn decides that it's a good place to start. Though Blaine doesn't agree to it, he doesn't disagree either. And he allows Quinn to lead him down the isle of the theatre. Joey loyally follows at their heels.

Everyone used to always cringe at the idea of using one of the three showers in the theatre. No one was ever quite sure why they were there, but had been by the dressing rooms, like a mini locker room, for as long as anyone could remember. Now Quinn is very grateful for these showers. Blaine needs all of this blood and grime off of him.

Blaine follows wordlessly. He watches Quinn turn the shower on, but he makes no move to get in.

"You're going to have to help me out a little here, Blaine." Quinn tries, but he makes no move. Joey watches them for a moment longer then trots over to the door and sits, facing the opposite direction, seemingly keeping guard.

"I'll help you get your clothes." Quinn tells him, now is not the time to be modest or embarrassed . Besides, Blaine is attracted to men. Quinn is attracted to... well... Rachel.

"Arms up." Quinn nudges at his arms, and is satisfied to see that he can at least listen to some things. She peels off the bloody shirt, it sticks to him in places. Then tosses it aside, no amount of washing will make wearing that shirt ok ever again. She unbuckles his belt and even unfastens the button and unzips the zipper of his pants. Blaine still stares ahead, like he isn't even aware that he is being undressed.

Quinn helps take off his shoes and pants and then he is just standing there in his underwear.

"I think we need at least a little modesty so I'll leave those on." At this point Quinn feels like she is talking to herself. She takes a hold of Blaine's hand and leads him over to the shower, where the water is cold. Quinn hopes this will wake him.

Blaine begins to shiver, but he gives no other indication that he is cold. Quinn rubs over his arms and torso, ridding him of the blood that has dried on his skin. She doesn't even care that she is being showered on by cold water. Little by little, as the red swirls down the drain, Blaine becomes more responsive.

Before Quinn knows what is happening, Blaine begins to sob. She isn't sure what to do, so she follows her gut. Not caring that this means having to take Blaine into her arms, letting the water cascade down on both of them.

"You're really here aren't you?" Blaine breathes, taking Quinn's face in his hands and looking at her closely. Water still pouring down on both of them.

"I am." Quinn tells him, a smile on her face. Glad that she has gotten her friend back.

"We all thought you died in the hospital." Blaine tells her.

"I thought I did too. Part of me still thinks I did." Quinn laughs suddenly and places her hands over Blaine's on her face. "This would be really romantic." Blaine laughs too.

"If we both weren't completely gay." Quinn is taken aback by Blaine's blunt statement.

"It's the end of the world Quinn. You being in love with Rachel was never a secret. Now I can at least say it out loud without feeling bad." Quinn wants to be offended, she tried years to pretend to be indifferent and even hate Rachel, and it was all for nothing? Instead she laughs, because Blaine is right, all of her fears before seems so inconsequential now.

Blaine drops his hands from Quinn's face and looks down at his attire, finally feeling like himself he seems a bit embarrassed. Quinn looks down a herself too, soaking wet.

"I guess it's time for me to take a shower too." Quinn laughs. Even though every ounce of modesty shouldn't matter in a post apocalyptic world, they still feel slightly embarrassed. Quinn turns around and reaches for her own bag allowing Blaine to fully shower. Not too long after rustling through her own bag to find her dry clothes does Blaine toss his undergarments, landing in a sopping pile next to the rest of his other clothes.

"Someone is feeling more like themselves." Quinn notes, appreciating the laugh that comes out of Blaine.

"A good shower and a good cry does that for you. Especially with a good friend." Blaine tells her, though she can still hear a bit of a strain in his voice.

"Alright I'm going to..." Quinn lets her sentence trail off, avoiding her eyes from Blaine and taking the third shower over (leaving one between her and Blaine). There isn't much of a separation from showers. They aren't stalls, just a plastic curtain hanging between each shower head, serving as a a barrier, but in no way serves for privacy.

They both avoid their eyes from each other when they finish with their brief showers. Quinn hangs her wet clothes to dry and puts on her dry ones. Blaine's however, will not be salvaged.

"I'm about to streak through the theatre because my clothes is at the edge of the stage, so if you'd like to shield your virgin eyes." Quinn laughs and is about to argue when Blaine makes a run for it.

Joey watches Blaine curiously, but makes no move to leave Quinn. Not until Quinn gathers all of her belongings and makes her way out of the shower room does Joey follow her out.

"Artie and I. We lost our modesty real quick here. See back home, he had everything he needed to help him take a shower. Here.. not so much, so I had to help him. You get used to seeing naked bodies." Blaine tells her, putting on a fresh shirt.

"Artie?" Quinn questions, though she regrets it as soon as she does. Blaine had been covered in blood, she could guess now who it belonged to.

"Yeah, I lost - We" Blaine's voice starts to shake. Quinn wants to tell him that he doesn't have to talk about it. Blaine's face makes it clear though, he needs to talk about it.

"I'm the one who usually went out to look for supplies. You know, because Artie- he couldn't. And I went out because we needed toothpaste. I mean toothpaste! We got comfortable having everything we needed here. And I left, but I was surrounded by zombies. And he heard me screaming. So he- he went out and started making all this noise. Drawing them away from me." Blaine takes a moment, tying up his shoes. Keeping his tears at bay.

"Then he started- he started screaming for my help. Saying his wheel got stuck on something. His screams echoed off the lockers. I tried to make it to him, but by the time I got to him- they were pulling out his insides like-like sausage in a meat store. There was 5 of them on him. And I took them all out. There wasn't much left of him. Just pieces of him on the ground. His glasses were 3 feet from his chair. His hands were still in tact, so I grabbed his gloves."

"Arite wasn't the first I lost. There was 5 of us here in total. But Artie. He's different. Was. He was my family. Just like you are." Quinn nods in understanding. She isn't sure when it happened, but somewhere along the way of trying to destroy the glee club, they had become her family.

"Do you know if anyone else is out there?" Quinn questions, she doesn't want to get her hopes up, but she does anyway.

"Other than my original group, you are the first living person I have come in contact with." Blaine tells her.

"Speaking of living people. What the hell is going on?" Blaine looks a bit of guard by the question.

"What do you mean?" Blaine asks her, taking a seat next to a pile of what Quinn guesses is food.

She proves to be right when Blaine hands her a can of something, then takes a bowl and pours another can for Joey. Quinn takes a seat next to Blaine and digs in.

"I mean I woke up at the hospital yesterday. And I have no idea what's going on."

"So you don't know what happened." It isn't a question. It's the beginning of a story.

* * *

**Just outside of Lima, Ohio**

"No Santana, you don't get it." Rachel slurs, trying to take the almost empty bottle back from Santana.

"Yes I do, and I say for your pint sized ass... you've had too much." Santana slurs back, taking a swig from the bottle.

"You are not allowed to call my ass anything short of amazing. I've seen you leering." Rachel slurs confidently.

"She's totally right, ya know" Puck agrees, taking the bottle from Santana to have his own sip.

"The end of the world has done some wonders to it." Santana nods, Kurt snorts at Santana and reaches to get to the bottle.

"You've been checking out Rachel's ass since the 9th grade." Santana shrugs, not even caring to deny it.

"Berry's always had a sweet ass." Santana takes the bottle back and hands it over to Rachel.

"Seconded." Puck agrees with a burp.

"Do you think we'll find anyone?" Kurt wonders, laying back on his sleeping back, gazing up at the stars.

"Are you speaking in general or like...people we love?" Puck asks. He too lays back to admire the view. The end of man kind came with some perks. There were no lights around to obscure the view of a brilliant starry sky.

"Both I guess." Kurt mumbles, shaking his head when Rachel offers him the bottle.

"We found each other right? That has to mean something." Santana tells them. She takes the bottle from Rachel, it seems they are left to finish the bottle.

"Do you think Brittany is alive?" Kurt asks Santana, not scared to bring up Brittany now that he is under the influence of alcohol.

"Do you think Blaine is?" Kurt contemplates it for a moment then answers.

"I hope he is. That hope is what keeps me going."

"Quinn's dead." Rachel says bluntly, finally admitting that Quinn ranks amongst Brittany and Kurt when it comes to loved ones in this situations.

"Don't say that." Kurt tells her lightly.

"Why not?" Rachel downs the rest of the little that is left in the bottle. "We left her there. And even if she managed to wake up from her coma, there is no way she would have been able to get away form anything that wanted to eat her. Paralyzed remember?" Rachel leans back. Her head resting on Pucks stomach. She needs to fall back on him for support. He was her partner, they had a special bond. Puck wraps an arm loosely around her waist, trying to comfort her.

"Hope is such a stupid thing." Rachel scoffs, then turns into Puck hiding her face. She starts to snore seconds after.

"What happened to you guys?" Santana asks Puck not being able to resist any longer.

"We had to do some terrible things to stay alive. To keep each other alive. We stopped trusting people." Kurt looks over at his friend.

"Bieste was with us at first. But we trusted the wrong people. And she was killed." Puck tells them in a thick voice. Santana and Kurt are stunned into silence at the revelation.

"Rachel blames herself for it because she wanted to help them. She's the one who convinced us to let them join us."

"She's always loved helping people." Kurt agrees.

"She still does, but she doesn't trust as easily now. She came up with 3 questions to ask people if we ever wanted to let anyone join us. She can really tell what a persons motivations are by the questions."

"You didn't ask us." Santana is sure how she feels about this, not until Puck answers her anyway.

"You're family. You don't count." He tells her, curling an arm more securely around his partner.

"What are the questions?" Kurt realizes that the only reason he has worked up the nerve to ask is because of the alcohol. He only hopes he remembers the conversation in the morning.

"How many walkers have you killed?" Puck pauses, allowing his new companions to soak in the question. Kurt and Santana had mostly been on the run, moving place to place every time resources ran out. They had encountered very little walkers. Santana had killed. One with a screw drive the other with the knife that is tucked into a sheath at her hip. Kurt had only killed one.

"How many people have you killed?" Santana can't say she is surprised by the question. She just can't imagine herself, after months of being with only Kurt, killing another person. If she were to find another living soul, killing them would be the last thing on her mind.

"Why?" Puck sighs, turning his head to look at his friends. "There is a right answer to those question. I don't know them, Rachel does, but apparently I passed.

"Too many walkers to count. 1 person. To protect myself." Puck bites his lip and then continues.

"Rachel has probably killed more walkers than me. And we don't shoot guns, so you can only imagine how." Both Kurt and Santana stare at the petite girl in disbelief. The one who threw up when she was egged in a parking lot.

"She's killed 2 people. One with her gun. The other-not with her gun." Puck swallows thickly.

"And it was to keep me alive."

* * *

**Outskirts of Columbus, Ohio**

Kitty loads up the last of the supplies into the SUV. They won't be in the vehicle for long. They drive just to the edge of the city then trek the rest of the way on their feet.

"You guys ready?" Kitty asks the group standing before her. She doesn't use a voice louder than a whisper. She may be a bitch but she wouldn't purposefully wake up the whole group for no reason.

"Let's get this show on the road girlie." Paul winks disgustingly at her. She isn't too happy about him tagging along, but he can carry a lot. And strength matters in this trip.

"As ready as we'll ever be, I think." Ryder says nervously. Karofsky pats him on the back encouragingly.

"We'll be fine." Dave assures him.

"We might not though. You all know the risks, right?" Kitty double checks they should really be moving out already. The sun rises in an hour or so.

"We all know, Kitty. Just lead the way." Maggie smiles at the girl and hands her her spare gun. It's a big deal for Maggie to trust her with it, but Kitty rather not. She can handle herself.

"Would you mind if I left it here with Jake and Marley,? I'd rather leave it here with them to protect the group." Maggie smiles at her, glad to see the softer side of Kitty Marley often speaks about.

"If she don't want it. I do." Paul interjects, holding out his hand. Maggie eyes him and shakes her head.

"Kitty is right. If we don't make it back, they'll need it more than us." No one realizes Marley and Jake exiting their tent.

"But you will be back right?" Marley squeaks, not liking the sound of the conversation.

"I promise we'll try." Kitty assures her friend. Marley lunges into Kitty's arms.

"Dammit Marley." Kitty says thickly "You know I don't do goodbye hugs. They're bad luck."

"It's not a goodbye hug." Marley says petulantly. She pulls away and looks Kitty over.

"Take care of yourself, ok?" Kitty nods and lets Marley hug the rest of the group, lingering on Ryder her other closest friend. The only person who doesn't receive a hug is Paul.

"Hey dude. Come back safely, alright?" Jake tells Ryder. Jake may be a bit pissed at his friend, but he wants him back alive.

"I'll try." Jake tells him, and it's as if they cant hold it in any longer, so they hug each other.

" This is a waste of time." Paul groans.

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Paul. We have to go." Kitty tells them, walking towards the SUV.

"I bet we can agree on all sorts of stuff honey." Paul says in a suggestive tone. He is about to get into the passenger seat next to Kitty when Dave grabs a hold of the back of his shirt and pulls him back.

"I get shotgun." Dave tells him in a superior voice. Paul looks like he might argue, but Dave is built like a linebacker, and would easily take him down

"Whatever." Paul mutters.

They all shuffle into the vehicle. Kitty adjust the rearview mirror to look back at her two best friends. They wave at them as they drive off. It takes all Kitty has in her not to tear up. She has a feeling something is going to go terribly wrong today.

* * *

**Here is another one for you all!**

**It's strange to see how many hits this story gets compared to HPOE. Hope you guys are liking it. I'm not even sure many are reading it. I'm having fun though, so I'll continue.**

**Thank you all for your reviews! Love hearing from you, so let me know what you think.**

**-A**


	7. Tangible Hope

**1-70 en route to Columbus**

Sam and Finn sit in silence. The roaring of the engine is the only sound that cuts through night. The lights beam into the darkness, lighting the grass next to the interstate. The RV is a good mile or two behind, not being able to maneuver as easily.

"Britt is the one who kept me alive." Sam says, finally breaking the silence. Finn glances away from the road to look at his friend.

"At the military base?" Finn questions, Sam shakes his head.

"No, when this all started." Sam tells him, staring out at the emptiness.

* * *

**_Two months earlier_**

_It took 3 days. 3 days for the infection to spread. That's it. You can drive from New York to California in half that time. _

_It started right here in the states. Not in China, nor Russia, not some foreign country that people in the United States consider to be exotic._

_It started in an experimental lab in Florida. The lab caught fire, and it was so inconsequential that it only made the local news the night before the first day. What no one realized was when the fire broke out, it released the infection. And it became airborne._

_1/4 o the population, in the US at least, died suddenly. They didn't turn. They just died from a high fever. You developed symptoms in 2 hours. 4 hours and you would be too weak to move. In 8 hours you were dead. It was the quickest virus anyone had ever seen._

_This all happened the first day. It happened so quick schools didn't even bother to cancel classes on the second day. A lot of people didn't show up to school though. Parents terrified that their children would be infected._

_That is when people started turning. They also got the fever, but once their body shut down, they rose. Their skin a pasty grey, their eyes a glassy white, and with a sudden hunger for human flesh._

_The government and any form of law enforcement collapsed the third day. There was supposed to be a country wide evacuation for those who survived. Those uninfected. They would be taken to larger cities. Refugee centers is what they were called. And from there they would be evacuated to Canada where the infection apparently hadn't spread._

_It all happened so fast, no time to come up with any sort of plan. The human race never stood a chance._

_"Sam!" Brittany yelled from across the hallway. The High School was in panic, for the few faculty and students that actually showed up that day. People weren't sure what to do. Citizens showed up to William McKinley High for guidance. It was supposed to be one of the main transportation sources._

_"What are you doing here?" Sam asked, shoving past some of the hysteric people to get to his friend._

_"Santana told me to wait here, but I think. I think one of the soldiers put her on a bus." Brittany told him, still searching the crowd for her girlfriend. Sam eyed the soldiers around the school barking orders at everyone. Roughly shoving terrified people into busses._

_"What are you two standing here for, get on a bus!" A man in uniform barked, passing by without giving them a second glance. _

_"Alright, let's look for her. Keep an eye out for Mercedes too will ya? My family has already been evacuated. I came back for her." Brittany nodded and took a hold of Sam's hand._

_"Don't let go ok? We can't lose each other." Brittany instructed him. Sam grasped her hand tightly. They both made their way through mass of people in search of their girlfriends._

_Sam was about to tell Brittany he thought he saw Santana in one of the busses that just drove out when a soldier grabbed him roughly by the back of his collar._

_"Go! Go! Go!" The soldier was ushering them into the bus._

_"No! let go!" Sam yelled trying to get the soldier off of him. Brittany let go of Sam's hand and tried to shove the soldier._

_"I SAID GET OFF MAN!" Sam yelled punching the soldier in the face. The man was taken aback by Sam's force. He touched his finger to his bloody lip and looked over Brittany and Sam._

_"You're on your own." The man uttered, walking away from them._

_"Let's keep going." Brittany told him, grabbing a hold of his hand once again. Just as they were about to continue on, a hoard of the undead broke though the wired fences. All hell broke loose._

_If it was chaotic before, what was this? People were running and shoving, not caring to take a pause to help others. Just to save themselves._

_Brittany and Sam made a run for it, aiming for the football field. They were aware that they were running against the current of most people which made it all the more difficult. They continued on, jumping and lunging over bodies of the dead. Soldiers began shooting at anything that moved. Walkers and humans alike._

_Suddenly Sam tripped. He tumbled forward onto the ground just as one of the smaller chain link fences collapsed, crashing down on top of the blonde boy._

_Brittany turned around to see what had separated her from her friend. Sam's leg was caught under it, jammed. He couldn't break free. The undead were mere feet away from him._

_"Brittany go!" Sam yelled, trying to get his leg unstuck, but it was no use. Brittany deliberated for a moment, like maybe she did stand a better chance without him. But she wouldn't leave her friend behind. She ran back towards him, twisting the fence to get him out._

_"Just go!" Sam yelled, shoving his friend away, but suddenly his leg was free and a hand was being offered to him._

_"Lets go!" Brittany yelled urgently just as a walker grabbed at his boot. He kicked himself free and jumped to his feet._

_They were just about to reach the bleachers when they saw a face they recognized on the ground._

_"It's Tina!" Brittany gasped, dropping to her knees in front of her friend. Every instinct in Sam was to run and leave her behind, but he couldn't do that. Not after Brittany risked her life to stay with him._

_"What's wrong with her? Is she sick?" Sam asked, not yet being privy to the information that the infection could be spread by bite._

_"She's alive, but I think she hit her head," More walkers were approaching. Sam had no time to question it. He took a hold of Tina and threw her over his shoulder._

_"Let's go!" Sam bellowed, continuing his run to the field. Vehicles were haphazardly parked around the field._

_"There!" Brittany pointed out to a huge RV parked near the edge of the field. Brittany ran ahead, just to make sure the vehicle had it's keys. Sam followed as best he could with Tina._

_"Let's go!" Brittany echoed Sam's repetitive words. She was behind the wheel and the engine was on. They had a chance to make it out alive._

* * *

**_Present Day_**

"She came back for me. And I shot her. We need to save her. I need to do this." Sam explains to Finn. Finn had been listening in silence. He decides to takes Sam's mind from their particular task.

"I went back to school too. For Rachel. And Puck. I'm not stupid. I knew it was over between us when she chose Quinn over me the day of our wedding. But she was still important to me. And After my mom..after she died the first day- Puck and Rachel were my family, other than Burt and Kurt obviously, but they are- were- who knows- my family. I lost track of Burt and Kurt, so I needed, I needed to find them. But Mercedes and Mike and I were all shoved into a bus headed for Columbus. We never made it that far. They started bombing 1-70. We heard it before we saw it. So Mike, Mercedes, and I decided that was our stop and hopped off the bus."

"We're about 15 miles out from the city line. You guys?" Mike radios in, interrupting the conversation.

"Shit we're going too fast." Finn tells Sam, slowing down th truck.

"We're 5 miles out. We're slowing down." Sam radios back. It doesn't matter that they're slowing down though, because they skid to a halt. Road spikes had been set up, they are effectively stopped.

* * *

**McKinley High Lima, Ohio**

"So actual zombies?" Quinn asks, a bit stunned, laying back to stare at the ceiling.

"I mean, yeah. They die, then come back to life and want to eat people. If that's not the definition of Zombie than I don't know what is." Blaine sighs, laying down next to Quinn. Joey curls up next to Blaine, who has been feeding him vegetables all night. He licks at Blaine's hands hoping to get more, but when he doesn't he huffs and lays by their feet, over looking the whole theatre.

"And you haven't tried to leave McKinley?" Quinn questions, turning her head to face Blaine. He does the same.

"No, we were holed up here hoping for rescue." Blaine sighs, though the look on his face tells Quinn that he no longer believes in this fairy tale.

"Where did you say they were evacuating people? Canada was it?" Quinn questions, trying to recall his story, even his tale had seemed chaotic.

"That was the eventual goal. They were going to evacuate us to cities. Like Columbus, then from Columbus to some other check point. I don't know really, no one ever got that far." Quinn nods.

"So do you think Columbus would be our safest bet?" Blaine contemplates the question for a moment.

"There were rumors about a refugee center there. We were all going to head there, but eventually it was just Artie and I. We wouldn't have made it 2 feet outside of Lima."

"But we can now, can't we? If there is any chance Rachel and Kurt are still alive, they would have gone to the safest place. I think that's the refugee center." At the mention of Kurt, Blaine seems to really consider the idea.

"How would we get there? Would we really walk all the way to Columbus? We can't make it."

"I passed the Mercedes dealership on my way home yesterday. Lot looked pretty fully." Quinn grins.

"They keep the keys in the office!" Blaine grins back. "But what if - what if they come back to look for us?" Blaine asks, sitting up, already getting his stuff together.

"Woah, slow down the tiger. We leave first thing in the morning. Lets get some rest. We have Joey to watch out for us." Joey perks up his ears but keeps his line of sight at the door, light groaning can be heard just beyond the doors.

"Do you think we'll really find them?" Blaine asks, settling back down right next to Quinn.

"I hope so." Quinn murmurs, exhaustion finally consuming her.

* * *

**Lima, Ohio**

"Did we really have to leave the prius behind?" Santana groans from the back seat. She is seated next to Rachel, having both over done it with the alcohol they had opted for the back seat to stay away from the sun.

"Two cars? No dice. I'm keeping our group together." Puck tells them, also a little hung over. A slim Jim hangs from his mouth. He reaches into the center console where he has his whole stash and tosses one each to his companions. "The grease will help with the hang over."

The girls grimace at the meat stick, but listen to Puck.

"So where to next?" Kurt asks his companions. They had been to everyones house from the glee club. They found evidence that people had been in a couple of the houses, but they figured it had just been looters.

"I want to go to the hospital." Rachel tells them. They had all seen this coming, but hospitals had been a safe haven when the infection first hit. Which meant that many people died there. Leaving more walkers than they could count.

"I want to go too, but only if everyone agrees." Puck says from the front seat. It is only 8 in the morning and they had already covered so much ground, he needed to make sure everyone was really willing to risk their lives just to see Quinn's body. That's what they were all expecting to see anyway.

"I'm in" Santana agrees.

"Me too" Kurt chimes in.

"Alright then." Puck turns the jeep into the direction of the hospital.

They are surprised to see more dead bodies then walkers. In fact, most of the hospital is quiet.

"It wasn't like this when we left." Rachel whispers brokenly. She has seen bodies before, but not in masses like this. Most of them appeared to be human when they were taken down.

Rachel takes the lead her gun pointing ahead of her, only as a last result of course. Puck at the flank, for the same reason. Santana and Kurt had each been given a weapon. Both got aluminum bats. Puck and Rachel were competent enough with their machetes.

Inside the hallways of the hospital it felt like a bad video game.

"Jeepers Velma." Puck whispers rounding the corner of where a body laid half mauled.

"You guys are used to this?" Kurt asks, looking a little green.

"You'll get used to it too." Rachel whispers, spotting the doorway with the gurney in front of it.

"Keep your head on straight, Rach" Puck advises already sensing Rachel make a run for it.

"I'm fine." Rachel grits out, but as soon as she reaches the door she starts noisily shoving everything aside.

"Rachel!" Puck says in a harsh whisper, but she's already inside the room, not bothering to clear it.

Rachel steps up to the empty bed, placing her hands on the pillow. Before anyone can do anything, Rachel begins to tear the room apart. Sobbing as she throws everything all over the walls.

"Rachel stop!" Puck tries to grab a hold of her but she pulls away roughly.

She really didn't want to get her hopes up, but she wanted the closure of seeing Quinn's body.

"Rachel!" Puck wraps his arms around her. She punches and hits him, trying to get out of his hold. She breaks down in his arms, sobbing. Santana can't take the sight very much longer.

"My dad's office is just down that way." Puck doesn't bother to try and stop her. His primary concern is Rachel. Instead he holds out his gun for Santana to take.

Kurt follows her out for the same reason Puck is consoling Rachel. Santana is his person. She is going to need him. Just as Santana had said, the office is only 4 doors down.

Santana makes it through the doorway slowly. She takes the sight of the office in, not letting herself cry. She runs her fingers over her fathers desk chair, the top of his desk, and his robe. The name _Doctor Manuel Lopez _embroidered in blue letters.

Even though she didn't want to, Santana finds herself crying. She opens up the drawer to his desk. Her father had often forgotten his wedding ring ins his office, not wanting to lose track of it during surgery. She opens it and finds the small box Santana had built for him the fourth grade when they took a field trip to some type of wood shop or something. She doesn't even remember, but her father had kept it all these years. And inside of it, was his wedding ring. Santana clutches the box to her chest, her knees buckling. Kurt is there to catch her.

"Lets get out of here." Puck suggests from the doorway. A teary Rachel at his side.

Neither Rachel nor Santana realize that they've made it to McKinley until they are parked at the football field. A little more activity is seen around the school. A handful of walkers are scattered around the field. Nothing Rachel and Puck couldn't take.

"Santana, you take this one." Rachel instructs, handing over her machete to the girl. Santana takes it in her hand, surprised by the weight of the weapon. Then stabs it right through they eye of the walker that was making their way towards them.

The hallways of McKinley are even creepier than the hospital. They make their way stealthily passed the empty choir room. They don't linger on it though, the memories too painful.

"Jesus Christ." Puck mutters at the sight of a bloodied wheelchair. They all recognize it. Kurt bends over and throws up right there in the hallway.

"Noah, you're jewish." Rachel chastises.

"Babe, I don't know what I am." Puck mutters in disdain, focusing his eyes on anywhere but the chair.

"Lets keep moving." Santana is the one to say it. This is the last place she saw Brittany. She's still holding onto hope.

They make it to the doors of the theatre. Chains hang loosely off of them. Locks scatter the ground.

"Someone was here." Kurt says a bit too excitedly. They enter the theatre cautiously. Each taking an isle to walk down to, meeting at the stage.

"Are you guys seeing this?" Puck asks, his voice catching in his throat at the first tangible sign of hope.

The group hops onto the stage to get a better look. And sure enough, painted onto the back wall, are words.

"It's fresh." Rachel whispers hoarsely, as she touches one of the letters.

Written on the back wall of the theatre is the word _Columbus,_ a bow tie pinned right in the center of the _O_ by a knife.

* * *

**Hope you all enjoyed this one!**

**Have a great weekend!**

**As always, I love hearing from you. So reviews are very appreciated.**

**PS. I am SOOO tempted to bring in Daryl Dixon. I am so in love with that man.**

**Let me know what you think - A**


	8. Smoke Signals

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio**

Shallow breathing is all Mercedes can hear in the RV. She runs water over a cloth, listening closely for the breathing. Straining her ear.

Finn and Sam had removed the spikes from the side of the road by the time the RV had reached them. They had argued for a while about what to do, but in the end they had just loaded up all the supplies into the RV.

Mercedes had been volunteered to take care of Brittany when the RV ran out of gas just a mile out from the city limits. The group had taken off with a duffel bag full of guns and ammo.

"You gotta be strong for us mama." Mercedes tells Brittany, placing the cool cloth on her forehead.

Mercedes didn't like the fact she had been the one to stay behind. But she had been left with their arsenal of weapons and showed how to use one of their basic ones.

Mercedes was straining her ear so hard to listen to Brittany's breath she only registers the footsteps when they are passing the RV.

"San." Brittany groans. The footsteps stop for a moment.

"Shhh" Mercedes shushes her friend. She doesn't know if these people pose a threat to her. She is only one person with a less than mediocre knowledge of the gun she has. Her friend is dying in front of her. There is no way she can take on a threat.

She starts to shake. Mercedes lowers herself onto the bed.

"San." Brittany calls out again.

"Did you hear that?" A male voice calls out.

"Shhh Britt." Mercedes places a trembling hand over Brittany's mouth. "Shhh."

The footsteps only pause a moment longer before they continue on. Mercedes doesn't dare move until the footsteps are well out of earshot. She moves to the front of the RV to see if she can get a look at who the people were. Both Sam and Finn had warned her to stay away from anyone, in case they wanted to steal form them. All Mercedes saw was the retreating form of two peoples with backpacks and a dog. They looked harmless, but appearances aren't always what they seem, so she let them go.

"Mercedes?" Brittany calls weakly. Mercedes whips her head in the direction of her injured friend, this is the first time she is lucid.

"Britt." Mercedes breathes taking a seat on the bed.

"It hurts." She groans "So much."

"I know Britt. I'm sorry. The gang all went out to get you some help, ok?"

"Do you think I'll see San in heaven?" Brittany asks breathily.

"No Britt, don't talk like that. You won't see her there, because she's alive. And you need to be strong so you can see her." Brittany hums, like she agrees that Santana is still alive.

"If you find her, will you tell her I love her? And that I thought about her to the very end?" Brittany coughs out, her voice no louder than a whisper.

" No Britt. You fight this." Mercedes chokes out, tears streaming down her face. "You're the one who has to tell her." Brittany's eyes droop to a close.

"Brittany!" Mercedes screams. But Brittany's eyes remain closed. Her fingers flutter at her pulse point. There's a faint pulse beating under the skin. She breathes a sigh of relief.

Brittany is alive. For now.

* * *

**I-70 en route to Columbus, Ohio**

Kurt sits in the front seat of the Jeep, staring blankly ahead. His fingers toying with the bow tie hanging loosely from his hand, he's akin to a catholic fingering the beads of a rosary in prayer.

He had been so close. So damn close to Blaine. It gave him hope to know his boyfriend was alive, but it also worried him to know that Blaine was headed towards Columbus. A city overrun by the dead.

"STOP!" Rachel screeches from the back seat. Puck slams on the breaks, shooting everyone forward in their seats.

"The fuck Rach?" Puck questions, turning around in his seat.

"Look!" Rachel points out the window to the top of a mountainous area. Smoke billows from it. It's a man made fire.

"Could that be him?" Santana questions, leaning over Rachel to get a better view.

"We have to check." Kurt commands. No one else had a second thought. Of course they would check. If the possibility of it being Brittany or Finn or anyone- they would check. Now it's the possibility that Blaine is up there.

"Blaine buddy boy, we're on our way." Puck says enthusiastically.

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio**

The group walks into the city looking like a deadly boy band or something. Walking in side by side with their guns held out. They have no military training. Or use any common sense for that matter.

Finn lugs the duffel bag of weapons over his shoulder.

"Guys look." Tina points up ahead to a pharmacy. It's exactly what they need.

2 walkers make their way towards them. They walk right out of a bus.

"I got this one." Sam claims the walker and lifts the gun to shoot it. None of them having the privilege of ever using a weapon during this time, they do not realize their grave mistake as soon as they fire off their weapons. Fin and Sam each take a walker.

The shots echo off the buildings like a pinball machine.

"Alright, I think we're clear." Sam calls out. Oh how wrong he is. They make it about a block, right in front of a tank, before everything goes to hell.

A whole army of dead turns a corner right to them.

"Holy Fuckin Shit." Mike breathes, taking a hold of Tina's hand.

"RUN!" Finn yells, he fumbles and the bag of guns drops to the ground. He turns to grab it when Sam grabs a hold of his arm. Mike and Tina are already up ahead of them.

"Leave it!" Sam yells. They all but forget the guns in their hands just to make a run for it. They run for a good two blocks without much trouble.

"This way!" Tina screams pointing in the opposite direction of the pharmacy. It is the only street that isn't completely clustered with walkers.

They each pull out their guns and clear their way down the street. Putting as much distance as they can between themselves and the hoard of walkers.

It's another 8 blocks before they find an alley to run into. They find a back door. Tina shoots open the lock and they are in what looks like a sporting supply store.

Sam and Mike are quick to blockade the door, even though only a few geeks followed them into the alley. What the hell now?

* * *

**11 Blocks over Columbus, Ohio.**

"Emma what kind of antibiotics did you say again?" Kitty asks, going through the shelves of the pharmacy, to Kitty's surprise it was still fully stocked.

"Well the cure for blood poisoning. Which isn't really the term they use in the medical field. The cure for Sepsis is-" Kitty rolls her eyes and cuts off Emma, she likes the woman well enough, but she tends to go off on rants.

"Right, I'll just grab them all." Kitty doesn't mind taking extra helpings of everything. She brought enough people to carry enough to make a real dent in the store.

"Should I just grab all of the bandaging here?" Dave asks, a few isles over.

"Take as much as you can of things you think is necessary" Kitty calls back.

"Who put you in charge girlie?" Paul asks, just standing there. Kitty is about to open her mouth to retort but suddenly two gunshots echo in the otherwise silent streets.

"What idiot is making all of that racket?" Kitty makes her way to the glass doors, that are now locked. Everyone else follows. They see a group of four teenagers head down the street.

"Finn!" Will gasps "And Tina and Mike and Sam!" The man is about to rip off the chains from the door when Maggie makes a lunge for him.

"Are you crazy? Walkers will be here in seconds. They're as good as dead!" Maggie tries to reason with Will, but he's struggling. Dave is the one who steps in front of him.

"Mr. Schue, you'll put us all in danger." Will looks around at all the terrified faces, including Emma's.

"They're my kids." Will pleads desperately.

"You have kids?" Kitty questions, the man doesn't look old enough to have teenage kids.

"His students. Schue was my teacher. And theirs- only they were in his glee club. They mean a lot to him." Dave clarifies.

"I have to try and help them." Will pleads his case, but no one is having it.

"Wills right, we can't just do nothing." Emma agrees. If Emma agrees than these kids really must be special.

"If I let you go, you're on your own." This is why Kitty never brings anyone. Will agrees to the terms immediately.

"And you go out the back way." Emma takes a hold of his hand firmly. The whole group doesn't like the idea, but Kitty is in charge and they know it.

"We're both going." Will looks like he might argue, but he drops it.

"We can't wait for you." Kitty tries one last time, but apparently these students are more important the the group he has spent the last 2 months with.

"Ok then." Kitty sighs and walks to the back of the pharmacy. Will and Emma follow her.

"It was nice knowing you." Paul calls out. Emma and Will hug the remainder of the group, before Kitty opens the door. Emma and Will step out into daylight. Their running forms is the last Kitty will ever see of them.

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio City Limits**

Quinn and Blaine woke up at four in the morning to make their trek to the Mercedes Benz dealership. They both figured 'when in rome' right? They took the flashiest car and jumped. Sadly it didn't quite have enough gas to make it all the way there, but it got the job done. They simply walked the rest of the way into the city.

The first thing Quinn notices about the city is this particular stench emanating out from it. She had smelled it at the hospital and McKinley, but nowhere near this bad. She actually gags a few times before she is able to get used to the smell. Well, not entirely, there is no way Quinn will ever be able to get used to the smell of death.

Joey growls a few feet ahead. Quinn looks to see what has got his attention. It's a lone walker. Not 10 minutes earlier had they heard a series of gunshots, they weren't sure what to expect, but they definitely didn't expect a ghost town.

"It's just one of them boy, nothing we can't handle." Quinn says soothingly to the dog.

"Keep your eyes open for people. Those shots could have come from anywhere." Blaine tells her, his hands clenched around an ax. Quinn has her gun loosely held in her hand.

Quinn and Blaine walk silently down the street. Joey trotting a few paces ahead of them making sure everything is secure. They turn a corner, and are face to face with a tank. Joeys hairs stand on their end.

"That is more than one." Blaine says in a hoarse voice. Just ahead of them is a whole hoard of zombies, and they have just caught whiff of three appetizing new meals. Joey begins to bark wildly at the walkers, as if they needed to pinpoint their location anymore. It's to late though.

"Joey!" Quinn calls out. "Stay with me boy." Joey takes a few steps back until he is right between Blaine and Quinn. Quinn notices a bag of guns on the ground, something very useful for this situation and she is about to grab it when Blaine firmly grasps her arm.

"Oh god, we're going to die." Blaine mutters, he turns around to go back in the direction they came from, but they are now surrounded.

Quinn sticks out her gun, and compared to the first time she aimed to kill, there is no fear in her heart. This time she ins't just protecting herself. She is protecting loved ones, and she actually knows what is going on.

BANG! Quinn shoots one of the walkers right between the eyes on her first shot.

"Quinn! Under the tank!" Blaine hollers. She has no time to argue the boys motives. So she shoves Joey ahead of her, under the tank.

"Follow Blaine Joey!" Joey does as he's told, growling the entire time.

There is no way out, they are under the tank and the walkers are crawling in after them. Quinn deliberates putting her fathers gun to her head, there is no way she wants to come back as one of those things. But then Blaine disappears from sight and Joey is pulled into the tank. Blaine's hand waves for her to follow. Quinn jumps inside the tank and closes the door.

Joey growls at a body in the corner of the tank, but he seems dead so Quinn just focuses on finding a way out. It isn't until Blaine reaches for the glock in the holster of the dead soldier does the body become animated. Blaine and Quinn scream. loudly, causing a ringing in their ears. Blaine takes his ax and buries it into the skull of the soldier. Blood spurts out and sprays Blaine in the face.

"Sorry man. Thank you for your service." Blaine winces as he removes the ax from the skull. Quinn wants to laugh at Blaine's antics, but she is too worried about how they are going ti find a way out of here.

"Hey you dumb asses." A voice crackles through some speakers. Quinn whips her head to look at Blaine to make sure she isn't just hearing things. Blaine's wide eyes indicate that he heard it too.

"Yeah you two in the tank. What the fuck is wrong with you people? How many idiots will I be encountering today?"

* * *

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio.**

"Someone's coming!" Patricia announces. She's the wife of Jim who went on the run.

"Is it the gang already?" Jake asks, putting down the hammer he has been using to build a picnic table.

"No it's a different vehicle." Jake tenses at the news. He nods.

"Women and children need to hide, send all the men up here. Stat!" Jake wipes his hands on his jeans and pokes his head into his tent.

"Babe, put on your sluttiest outfit, we have company." Marley nods in understanding, she rips off her shirt and begins to change. Jake looks over his gun to make sure it is fully loaded. He only has one round.

There is a group of men already waiting at the edge of the camp all holding guns and other weapons in their hands. They all put on their most intimidating faces.

"Alright, you guys know what to do. It's only one car as far as we can tell." The men all nod as Jake takes point right in the front.

The Jeep pulls to a stop right in front of Jake. 4 people step out of the car. The buffer guy saunters his way towards the group, completely unaffected by the numbers. There is something about the man that is so familiar. One of the women with himh as a gun, and she too seems unaffected by the group of men with weapons. It's the fair looking boy who is scanning the crowd and the Latina who does the same that seem scared.

"Hey." The man greets.

"Sup." Jake nods. The man stops right in front of him. The other three linger a step behind.

"Big group you got here." The man comments, his eyes looking into every mans face.

"What's it to you?" Jake asks him in a stern voice.

"Looking for a friend, said he'd be in Columbus."

"Well he's not here." Both men stand their ground staring each other in the eye.

"Don't take it personally or anything, but I don't trust you." The man tells him, sizing him up. "Mind if I take a look?" The man takes a step forward, but maneuvers in front of him, loading a bullet into the chamber. The man arches an eyebrow at him.

"I don't trust you. But you know, don't take it personally." Jake echoes back. "I'm going to need you to leave now." Jake raises his gun to aim at the man in front of him, soon all of his men do the same. The woman with a gun behind the leading man lifts her gun as well.

"What's stopping me from thinking you don't have him here as a hostage.?My friends a pretty boy, I'm sure y'all would love a face like his in this place." The man loads his gun and aims it right at Jake. The fair boy stands on his toes to get a better look at the group of men.

"Hey baby, what's going on?" Jake is so thankful for the presence of his girlfriend, strutting her way to the front dressed in her sexiest clothes. Maybe if the man saw a women he wouldn't think they had a man held hostage.

"Marley?" The woman with the gun calls out to Jake's girlfriend.

"Rachel?" Marley questions, dropping her act suddenly. "Jake put down your gun." Marley takes a step forward. Jake reaches over to stop her, but she shakes him off. The woman, Rachel, holsters her gun and steps forward with a smile on her face.

"Noah, put down your gun." Rachel orders as she wraps her arms tightly around Marley. The man, Noah, bites his lip, but doesn't listen. Neither does Jake.

"Dammit Puckerman, listen to her." The Latina calls out. Jake isn't sure how the woman knows his name, but he lowers his gun. That is until he realizes she isn't talking to him.

"Fine." Noah sighs, holstering his gun.

"Puckerman?" Jake questions, sticking his gun in his waistband.

* * *

**A late night edition. I can't stop writing!**

**So any thoughts about adding Daryl?**

**Hope you guys liked it.**

**Love hearing from y'all. Let me know what you think -A**


	9. Guts

**Warning: Character death.**

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio**

Will and Emma run down the street, calling out for their students, but through all the chaos, no one can be heard.

They see them just ahead, and Will knows that it really is the worst mistake he has ever made. The only weapon he has is crowbar. Emma wouldn't be able to swing anything even if she had a weapon to use.

"We're not going to make it." Emma tells Will hysterically. Will squeezes her hand tightly, hoping to find a store to sneak into. That's when he sees his students disappear into an an alley.

"Just a little further!" Will yells, striking a walker across the face. Three more seem to appear in it's place.

"WILL!" Emma screeches just as a walker rips into her. It's hand tearing a chunk of flesh right off her back. Will stabs the crowbar through the walkers eye, but it's too late. Emma falls to the ground in pain.

"Go Will! Go!" Emma sobs, pushing him away. Will looks down at her helplessly, not sure what to do, Walker's are closing in on them.

"Will, I love you. GO!" Emma screeches. Tears stream down both of their faces, if he is going to make a decision he has to make it now.

"I love you." Will sobs, pressing a messy kiss to her lips. He pulls away and runs, taking down as many Zombies as he can. He makes it into the alleyway and finds a door that has been shot at. He begins slamming at the door with the crowbar.

"Guys! It's me! Open up!" He's making too much noise and he knows it, but this is his last chance.

There is some rattling and then the door swings open.

"Mr. Schue?"

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio**

Quinn scrambles forward to reach for the walkie talkie.

"Hello?" Quinn answers back, not sure if she just made up the whole thing in her mind.

"Yeah you, what the hell were you thinking?" The female voice calls back.

Even through the tank the unmistakable screams of a woman dying is heard. Quinn has to make sure it isn't the mysterious voice from the walkie talkie.

"You still there?" Quinn radios back, but they are met with static.

"Was that her?" Blaine asks after a minute of silence.

"Are you ok?" Quinn questions, trying again.

"You're the one in a tank surrounded by walkers and you're asking me if I'm ok?" The voice questions in a thick voice.

"What was that?" Quinn asks, ignoring the sarcasm.

"It was- She was one of my people." There is another brief moment of silence.

"Look. The walkers were distracted by her screams. They're moving away from the tank now. You have about 30 seconds to make a run for it. There is an alleyway to your left, crawl under the hostess truck and I'll be waiting by the fence." The voice clicks out.

"Wait, what's you're name?" Quinn asks.

"Are you kidding me? Did you hear me? 30 seconds." Quinn drops the radio and her and Blaine are on their feet in a second.

"I'll go first. I have the gun. Then hand me Joey." Quinn instructs, Blaine is quick to agree. Quinn reaches up and opens up the hatch, pulling herself through. No walkers have climbed on top of the tank, so it's clear.

"Alright, hand him over." Quinn reaches her arms into the tank. Blaine heaves the dog up into Quinn's waiting arms.

"Alright Joey, follow me, ok?" Quinn tells the dog, and she really hopes he understands because there is no second chances at this.

"Alright, lets go." Blaine tells Quinn once he is out of the Tank. They both hop off the tank, Joey right at their heels. Quinn realizes that noise seems to draw zombies near, so she puts her gun away.

"Blaine, I can't use my gun." Blaine nods, he too realized the sound of gunshots draws them. He swings his ax a total of three times before they make it to the hostess truck they have to crawl under.

"Right here!" A blonde beckons them to the fence, opening the gate. Joey waits for Blaine and Quinn to enter before following them.

"This way!" The blonde calls, something about her reminds Quinn of herself. This particular alleyway holds a few zombies and down the opposite way isn't blockaded like it is on this end. They don't have much time.

She leads them to a ladder that reaches to the top of a ledge. It's some form of fire exit. Blaine is instantly handing over his backpack and ax to Quinn so he can carry Joey. The ladder has no protection, if they are to slip, they will fall to their death. Yet Blaine doesn't hesitate to carry the dog.

"Bright side? It's the fall that kills us." The girl tells them once they are halfway up the ladder. A group of Zombies awaits them at the bottom. "I'm a glass half full kind of girl." Quinn can't help but chuckle at the statement. As far as bright sides go, dying from a fall is way better than from the undead below.

They enter a stairwell. Blaine sets Joey down once inside.

"You didn't have to help us." Blaine notes, he's not saying it in malice, it's grateful and questioning.

"Yeah well... I let two of my people go without helping them. Trying to redeem myself and what not." The girl is trying to sound nonchalant but guilt drips from her voice.

"We were a lost cause. You could have just left us there. Why did you help us?" Quinn persists.

"Karma, I guess. like pre Karma. If i'm ever in a shit storm I'd want someone to help me out." The girl, younger than Quinn, sounds so tired that Quinn doesn't ask her any more questions.

"Thank you." Quinn says instead. The girl shrugs, reaching the main level of the building.

"Yeah whatever." The girl mutters. Joey trots down ahead of Kitty, walking down the isles of the pharmacy.

"Quinn?" A familiar voice calls down one of the isles. "Blaine?" Both of them turn their faces to the voice.

"Dave?" Blaine's face breaks out into a smile.

"Karofsky?" Quinn calls out at the same time as Blaine.

"Y'all know each other?" A man asks in a southern drawl. Quinn turns to the man, his eyes gaze over her appreciatively. Joey crouches in front of this man, growling at him. Sensing his predatory gaze on Quinn.

"Get that filthy mut-" The man lifts his foot to kick at Joey, but Quinn instantly draws her gun and aims it at him.

"I dare you." Quinn grits out. The man raises his hands in surrender.

"We got ourselves a feisty one." The man says in a smug tone. Quinn is vaguely aware of a gun drawn at her back.

"Put the gun down Maggie. He was going to kick her dog." A man says, appearing from a different isle. The gun is lowered.

Blaine and Quinn look around, surprised by how many people they are suddenly surrounded by. Actual living, breathing people.

"No one cares if they point a gun in Paul's face." Dave grunts. Paul immediately steps up.

"What'd you say, faggot?" Dave rolls his eyes. A lot has changed since high school. Back then he would have blown a gasket to retaliate in some way.

"Shut your white trash mouth Paul. Or I'll let her shoot you." Dave places a calming hand on Quinn's shoulder, she lowers her gun.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here now?" Another boy asks.

"Kitty will figure it out." The man who asked Maggie put down her gun assures.

"No-They caused this!" The boy curses angrily, pointing at Quinn and Blaine.

"Jesus Ryder, calm down." The blonde girl who saved them mutters.

Walkers begin thrashing at the front doors. The glass creaks under the weight but doesn't break. Not yet at least.

"It wasn't even them it was-" Maggie begins but Dave shakes his head, cutting her off. It doesn't go unnoticed, but Blaine and Quinn decide to let it go.

"I have to go check out the roof." The blonde mutters, everyone follows her up the stair well. Joey climbs up the stairs ahead of them. It's quite a few flights of stairs. Quinn is winded by the time she hears Joey bark twice.

"It's clear." Blaine translates for the dog.

"Smart dog." Maggie compliments as they reach the door to the rooftop. "Sorry, didn't introduce myself. I'm Maggie." The woman reaches out her hand to Quinn.

"I'm Quinn, this is Blaine." Quinn introduces Blaine. He takes her hand politely. Joey makes his way over to them.

"And this is Joey." Quinn pets the top of the dogs head affectionately. Maggie gets down to his level and appreciates the dog completely.

"This is Jim, Ryder, Paul, Kitty, and it seems you already know Dave." Maggie introduces, they each nod their heads respectively.

"Yeah we went to high school with Dave." Blaine explains, it seems Maggie is about to open her mouth yet again, but Dave stops her.

"How does it look?" The boy, Ryder, asks Kitty. She's using a pair of binoculars to scope out the street.

"We're screwed." Kitty mutters handing over the binoculars to Ryder.

"I say we send the faggot out as bait then we make a run for it." Paul suggests. Quinn cringes, thinking he is talking about her or Blaine, but he's looking right at Dave.

"Shut up Paul." Maggie spits. Paul looks around in rage, not one person willing to jump in to defend him.

"How about you pretty, what do you think?" Paul asks Quinn. She walks over to Ryder and Kitty trying to get a good look as well. "I think you're disgusting." Quinn holds out her hand for the binocular and to her surprise she is handed it.

"Aw c'mon now." He complains. Then realization seems to hit him. "Oh you're a rug muncher, aren't you?" Quinn ignores him, instead focusing the binoculars on a construction site.

"Listen you piece of inbred white trash-" Dave spits out, finally letting Paul's words get to him. Paul is quick though, he turns around and scoops Maggie's gun right out of her holster. He aims it right at Karofsky. Everyone begins to protest.

"Hey calm down!" Kitty bellows at Paul, but he aims the gun at her instead. Ryder steps in front of Kitty protectively.

"I've been wanting to beat your face in for a while now." Paul tells Dave. Dave has his hands up in surrender. Paul strikes him across the face with the gun, busting his lip right open. Joey growls at the fight, but doesn't intervene because of a stern look from Quinn.

Paul proceeds to beat Dave to the ground, no one being able to stop him. Maggie and Blaine try to jump in, but he points the gun right at them.

"Do something!" Kitty orders Quinn, she looks down at the gun at her hip. Quinn comes around behind Paul and whacks him right across the back of his head. He falls to the side groaning in pain.

Right next to his head is some sort of pipe with a chain locked to it. Quinn only thinks about it for a moment. "Blaine hand me one of the locks from the school." Blaine does as he's told, handing over the lock. Quinn wraps the chain tightly around his wrist, then locks it.

"The fuck are you doin pretty?" Everyone watches Quinn in awe, but she says nothing about the encounter, simply handing the key off to a bloodied Dave and pointing over to the construction site.

"There is a construction site a couple blocks down the road. They keep the keys to the vehicles on site, if we can make it there we can bring one of those supply trucks and bring it over to the loading dock and get everyone out of here."

"We wouldn't make it one block. They'll smell us." Kitty seems to like the idea except for that small bit.

"They can smell us?" Quinn questions.

"They smell dead, it's a pretty distinct smell. We don't." Jim pipes in.

"I have an idea. It's a bad one though." Quinn tells them, heading down the stairs.

"You're right, this is awful. This is bad." Kitty says in horror, two unmoving walkers at their feet. Everyone is dressed in protective gear. Quinn wears a plastic mask to cover her face. Blaine's ax in her hand.

"I'm going to hurl." Blaine comments looking green. Joey sits in the corner, eyeing the walkers, under strict orders from Quinn to stay put.

"Not yet." Quinn instructs. "They smell dead right?"

"Can't smell anymore dead, I suppose." Dave comments, he too wears a protective mask.

"You're sure you're with me Kitty?" It was agreed that Kitty knew the area the best and that it was Quinn's idea so they would be the ones risking their necks. Kitty though, looks a little more green than Blaine.

"Yeah yeah." She breathes.

"This is sick." Jim holds a machete in his hand.

"This is the only way." Quinn corrects. Both her and Kitty dressed in white medical robes, buttoned up tightly around them. Gloves cover their hands.

15 minutes later Quinn and Kitty are walking out of the back door, covered in Zombie guts. Intestines hanging loosely from their shoulder like a scarf. Joey's whining can be heard from beyond the door. Blaine had promised to take care of him when Quinn wouldn't let him go.

"This is crazy." Kitty whispers. Just as they pass a few of the walkers sniffing them. They lose interest and move on.

"Shut up." Quinn whispers back. They slowly make their way down the street, not drawing any attention to themselves.

"We're almost there." Quinn is pretending to not be scared, but inside she's trembling. Walking by these monsters. She too wants to throw up at the smell, but she needs to keep strong. She needs to get out of here alive. If she is able to find this group of people, than she knows she can find Rachel.

They are only a block away when a cloud appears overhead. Quinn curses god or whoever is up there watching, for making everything so difficult for her. She is so close. She had to literally tear a body apart and rub blood and guts all over herself to make it this far. Only to have God literally wash it away with rain.

"Shit shit shit." Kitty mumbles frantically. The gore slips off their robes and onto the ground. Zombies near them, being able to smell the vague scent of human masked by death.

"Run!" Quinn yells, taking out her gun and shooting down 2 zombies that are too close to Kitty for comfort.

They make a break for it. Quinn is thankful for Sue Sylvester when she reaches the gate and easily climbs over it. They shed the robes and the gloves and run off to find keys to a vehicle. Kitty is the one to find them, she tosses them over to Quinn.

Quinn turns on the supply truck and peels it out of the lot. Heading the opposite direction of the pharmacy.

"Where are we going?" Kitty screeches "We have to go back!"

"We need a distraction." Quinn tells her calmly. She may be safe, but Blaine isn't. She still needs to make sure he makes it out alive. Then she'll be able to breathe. She stops in front of a Chevy Camaro and breaks the window, opening the car. The cars alarm goes off loudly.

"You can hot-wire a car?" Kitty asks in a tone of surprise. Quinn can understand this, she does look like a goodie two shoe. Santana taught her this trick.

"Take this car the opposite way, lead as many as you can away. I'll go pick them up. We'll meet up outside of Columbus on I-70."

"How do I know you won't just leave them there?" Kitty asks, untrusting of Quinn.

"A girl never leaves behind her gay best friend and her dog behind." Is all Quinn says before getting back into the truck. "I want this back." Quinn tosses her gun to Kitty. Quinn is able to close her window. Kitty's is broken. This will serve as a bit of protection.

Kitty gets into her car and drives off in the opposite direction. Quinn heads towards the pharmacy at full speed. She's at the pharmacy in seconds, reversing the truck into the loading dock. The back is opened up and Joey scampers in, licking at Quinn's face. Normally she would stop to enjoy the love, but Quinn can't stop to think.

"Everyone in?" Quinn yells back, turning her head to look. She counts heads but one is missing.

"GO!" Ryder orders, Quinn doesn't hesitate to peel out. Blaine is already climbing into the front seat, that's all that matters.

It isn't until they get out of the city limits that any of them feels like they can breathe. Kitty never stops at the city line, instead she honks her horn to indicate for them to keep on going.

"I dropped the key." Dave says, breaking the silence. Someone pats him on the shoulder.

"It's ok. We're going home." Ryder tells them.

* * *

**Outskirts of Columbus, Ohio.**

"Squirt guns? Really kid, Squirt guns? I was about to blow your brains out!" Puck can't help but laugh at the younger boys tactic. "I thought you guys were some type of gang!"

"That was the point." Jake laughs. They had been sitting around right outside Jake's tent discussing their tactics. Jake normally wouldn't, but upon finding out that him and Puck shared the same useless father and Marley and Rachel took vocal lessons _before,_ together, they were easily accepted.

"You've got some guts, Jake!" Puck claps him on the back.

"You spray painted water guns to look like real guns. That's- genius actually." Santana compliments from next to Rachel.

"We've had looters come by before. We need to appear strong even if we aren't." Marley explains from Rachel's other side.

"As much as I love this whole family reunion you guys have going on right now. Blaine is headed for Columbus, and I need to stop him." Kurt says nervously.

"We had a group of us go into the city for a run." Aidan, the EMT tells them. "If your boy is there, they'll see him. Lets wait for them to come back before you guys do anything rash." The rest of their group had dispersed once they found out the new comers were friendlies.

Suddenly a loud noise echos of a car alarm start to boom all around.

"Don't shoot. It's us." A radio at Jakes side goes off.

"They're back!" Marley breathes a sigh of relief at the sound of her best friends voice. They all get to their feet to greet them.

A Camaro pulls into the front of the camp, making a lot of racket. Puck is quick to jump into action, asking the blonde to pop the hood. He pulls something from the car and the alarm shuts off.

"Where is everybody else?" Marley questions, sounding heart broken, but running into Kitty's arms regardless.

"They're right behind me. We ran into some trouble. Lost Emma and Will, but picked up two extras. Well 2 and a half kinda. You'll see. " Kitty explains, getting a hug from Jake. Kitty eyes the 4 new people.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with extras." Kitty says warily. Just as a supply truck pulls up behind the Camaro.

"That's them now. They saved us out there. So be nice." Kitty warns Jake, he is always cautious about new comers, but it seems these four are ok, so she isn't too worried about the extras she has brought.

"Hey guys, come out and meet the group!"

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio**

"We need to get out of here, Britt is waiting for us." Sam says desperately. He is glad to see Schue and all but that isn't his main concern. His main concern was lying in a bed in an RV with his girlfriend.

"We'll get out of here and take her back to my group. We have an EMT there. He'll be able to check her out." Will assures for the 5th time.

Just then a car alarm goes off loudly. The car then zooms past their street, taking the sound with it.

"What was that?" Tina asks, pressing her nose up against the glass, only to pull away when a Walker slams against it.

"I think that was my group leaving." Will tells them brokenly.

"They would leave you?" Finn questions in disbelief.

"They warned me they would. But I needed to get to you guys." The group looks around at each other sadly.

They finally found each other, but it seems they have lost all hope.

* * *

**I don't know what is up with me! I just keep on writing. **

**I'll be updating my other story possibly tomorrow so expect an update for this maybe Monday or Tuesday.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it. Faberry reunion next. And possibly Brittanna as well, haven't decided yet.**

**Let me know what you think. -A**


	10. Lost Time

**Warning: Character death.**

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio**

"I can't believe they actually left you." Finn breathes, defeated. He plops down on the ground, never having felt this kind of disloyalty and it wasn't even his group that left him .

"I understand that they did. We have rules, and it's kept us alive this far. I know them though. Jake, he'll send a team back." It's surprising to them how unconcerned Mr. Schue looks. He strolls down the isles of the sporting goods store like it's just another day of shopping.

"How can you be so calm?" Sam asks him, irritated. Will shrugs getting a better look at the isle of guns.

"I have to get back to Brittany!" Sam yells, frustrated. Mike is quick to try and shush him.

"Theres nothing we can do right now but sit tight." Will tells them, hopping over a counter. "My group, they don't trust easily, so we'll have to prove that you're on their side." Will has no doubt that they will make it back to camp somehow.

"We'll take back these weapons. Daryl, he'll love this crossbow, he's been trying to work some kinks out of his. Plenty of arrows and guns to spare. Let's get a bag together. This will be sure to win them over." Will says conversationally. Finn is about to open his mouth to tell him they have more supplies back in the RV when Tina stomps on his foot and gives him a stern look.

"How can you even act like this right now?" Tina asks him, her tone cold.

Will is playing around with the crossbow, unsure of how to use it when Tina asks this. He sets it down on a glass display case and turns to face Tina slowly. His face is somber.

"Emma was with me, trying to get to you guys. I lost her. I - I need to keep my mind off of her." His voice shakes as he expresses this. Tears spring to Tina's eyes at the revelation. Mike wraps his arms around her so she can cry into his chest.

"So yeah, Daryl will like this. Maggie needs ammo for her gun, but I'm not sure what kind her gun needs."

Just then a guttural scream rips through the city. A man, that much was for sure. Everyone stands to their feet, wondering where the horrible noise was coming form. The yelling doesn't stop, whatever is happening to this man, sounds painful.

"We have to help him!" Finn insists, getting to his feet.

"Finn we can't." Will starts. Finn shoots the man the dirtiest look he has ever received from anyone. And coming from Finn that means a lot.

"We are not like your group Mr. Schue. Someone needs our help, and we help them. No questions asked." Sam is also getting all his gear together. He takes what Mr. Schue says to heart, strapping the crossbow over his back. If he isn't going to give it to this Daryl guy, then it'll be good for him.

"How have you stayed alive for this long?" Will asks them, in awe of the teenagers.

"We aren't stupid about it." Sam spits back.

"You're not smart about it either. Gun shots attract them." Will lets them know. They all look down sheepishly at their guns. Sam has no idea how to use a crossbow or else he would just use the one he is carrying. He makes sure to grab extra arrows just in case he figures out how to use it.

"It could be one of your guys." Mike tries to convince Will. This seems to stir something in him. He sighs, not liking the idea, but he is not going to get left behind again.

"We were in a pharmacy a few blocks down. I'll lead the way. But you guys need to grab stuff other than guns. Only use them as a last resort." Everyone looks around the room, finding a new weapon for themselves.

Once everyone is ready they open the door they came in through. Walkers turn their heads in the direction of the group, attracted to the noise. They are headed their way.

They make it 5 blocks when the screaming suddenly stops. They aren't loud enough for them to hear it, at least. Which is a problem, because if they can't hear them then neither can the walkers. And now they no longer have a distraction.

They keep calm, and make it another block and half before shit becomes real. No one is taking pause from whacking at the heads of the undead. All that can be heard are the grunts of effort and the sound of items hitting against flesh. They make it another 2 blocks like this, before things get out of hand. The pharmacy is just up ahead, but there is no way they will ever be able to reach it from this street, Zombies are hoarded together.

"We'll have to cut through the back!" Will instructs, waving his arms wildly. They have all heard him. Finn suddenly raises his gun at the man, and for a second Will thinks he might die at the hands of his favorite student.

"Watch out!" Finn orders, but it's too late a walker has already lunged for Wills neck as if it were a vampire instead of a zombie. Will lets out a horrifying scream. Finn is able to shoot the walker, but it's too late. Will continues to walk towards his students, but he realizes that he will not make it.

"I'm proud of you all." Are Will Schuester's last words before he turns around and runs directly at the walkers, causing enough of a distraction to get his New Directions to safety. Finn looks like he might go after the man that was like a father to him, but he will not let Mr. Schuester's last action be in vain. It's time to pull out the big guns, literally.

Finn doesn't hesitate to use his gun as he clears his way through the street. Everyone follows his lead, spraying bullets everywhere. They do it dangerously and carelessly, none of them having had any training before.

By some miracle this particular fraction of New Directions makes it to the pharmacy. They look around in wonder, momentarily distracted by the loss of Will.

"Brittany, we're comin'." Sam utters to himself, a huge grin plasters his face as he takes in all of the medical supplies.

What Sam doesn't know is that Brittany and Mercedes will be spending one night alone before the group makes it back to them.

* * *

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio.**

Rachel stands frozen still. Her eyes glued to the ones just a few paces away. She is unsure what to do. How to react. Her mind is a big empty _!_

She had been watching with a smile on her face as the group greeted their friends and family. She had been overtaken with a sudden sadness that she will never feel the way some of these people are feeling. She watches as one man lifts his child into his arms and kisses his wife. She admires Marley throwing herself into a blonde womans arms. She takes in the view of Jake, Noah's long lost brother, hug it out with a tall awkward guy that reminds her of Finn.

Her breath caaught in her throat when she saw Blaine emerge from the vehicle. I mean _Blaine Anderson_, the love of Kurt's life was alive and well. The warbler had somehow managed to stay alive holed up in the McKinley theatre. Then had survived the chaos in Columbus. And hitched a ride with the group that they had just arrived at. What were the odds?

Kurt reacted instantly, running right for Blaine. Blaine's eyes lit up when he realized it was Kurt that had run into his arms. An overwhelming jealousy coursed through her veins. Rachel felt awful for even feeling a little jealous. She knew it was wrong, and she knew it was a happy moment. All she wanted to do was break down in cry. Blaine pulled Kurt in for a passionate kiss. And tears were shed, but Rachel knew they were the good kind. The happy kind.

When _she _stepped out of the truck. She stopped short at the sight of Rachel. And all Rachel could think was this is some kind of cosmic joke.

"Rachel." Quinn whisperedd her name like a prayer. In that instant everyone is thankful for the shared intuition Rachel and Puck seem to share. If he hadn't caught Rachel's finger twitch for her gun, who knows what would have happened.

"Rach stop!" Puck lunged at Rachel before Rachel could get her gun free from it's holster. "It's her. It's really her." Rachel fights off Puck. He places the gun in the waist of his jeans and tries to pull her away from the crowd. Hoping to get her to see reason.

And it really looked like Rachel was going to walk away with him, but she spun out of his grasp suddenly And removed Jake's gun from his waist line and aimed it right for Quinn. Now their eyes locked. Quinn should seem frightened, but she looks at Rachel intently, calmly.

All Rachel sees is Quinn's hazel eyes. Her vision locks onto her target. She is vaguely aware of people yelling at her, waving their arms at her, but no one intervenes. Just in case it sets her off.

The gun rattles in her hand. She shakily aims it at the impostor. The dead who has stolen Quinn's face.

"You're dead." Rachel finally breaks her silence to direct her words at the blonde. Quinn smiles slightly at the words.

"Not yet." Quinn responds. She takes a slow step towards Rachel.

"You're paralyzed." Rachel argues in a hoarse whisper.

"Supposed to be." Quinn tells her taking another step forward, disproving her hypothesis.

"Quinn?" Tears stream down her face as Quinn takes that final step, causing the barrel of Jake's gun to press firmly against her forehead. Quinn tentatively reaches her hands up to take the gun from Rachel's grasp. She is surprised at how easy it is to pull it free and hand it off to whoever is closest. She isn't sure who takes it because her eyes are locked on the brown ones in front of her.

"It's really you." Rachel breathes brokenly.

"It is." Quinn assures her. And that is all Rachel needs to hear to throw herself into Quinn's arms and sob into her neck.

"I'm here Rachel. I'm here." Quinn whispers to her, holding her tight. Rachel pulls away, laughing a watery laugh and looking at Quinn.

"You idiot." Rachel laughs pressing a kiss to Quinn's forehead. "You almost let me shoot you." She presses another kiss to her cheek. "You stupid, stupid girl." Rachel peppers Quinn's face with kisses until finally, she pauses and stares longingly at her lips.

"I'm the idiot? You're the idiot who drew the gun on me. I mean-" Quinn's argument is silenced by Rachel's lips being pressed against hers.

"Is it just me or this group extremely gay?" Quinn hears Kitty comment, but she really doesn't care at the moment. Because the lips she has been dreaming about since she turned 15 are pressed firmly against hers. Moving languidly and passionately.

"Just wait until Santana finds her girlfriend." Puck comments, but Rachel can hear the happiness in his voice. His partner has finally found her girl.

"Maybe Paul's right, maybe it is contagious." Dave jokes, getting a few laughs.

The girls finally pull apart. They stare right into each others eyes, hoping to know what the other is thinking.

"Gag, save the moon eyes for later." Santana teases, there is a slight strain to her voice. She is happy, but all of this love is making her miss Brittany. Rachel turns around, but her arm stays firmly around Quinn's waist, not willing to let her go now that she has gotten her back.

"See buddy, Rachel was never going to hurt her." Blaine tells Joey. Rachel looks down at the dog with curiosity, she vaguely remembers hearing growling when she pointed the gun at Quinn, it must have come from that guy. Joey makes his way over to Quinn, his tail wagging once again.

"I found your dog." Quinn tells Rachel, happy to wrap her arm around the petite brunette as well. Rachel turns to look at Quinn, confused.

"I don't have a dog." Rachel lets her know.

"Oh, well I found a dog." Quinn tells her with a laugh. Rachel looks at Quinn enamored by her adorable nature, not being able to resist she presses a kiss to her cheek.

"Why did you think he was mine?" Rachel gets down to eye level to pet Joey.

Everyone else has seemed to have dispersed. Well everyone but the McKinley students. Even Dave has stayed behind.

"I found him on your front porch. He kind of saved my life a couple of times." Rachel smiles down at the dog, murmuring adorations at him. Joey seems to have taken a liking to her. Though to be fair, anyone that calls him a 'handsome good boy' in a baby voice gets his love.

"Hey Jake, do you mind if we set up camp with you guys for tonight?" Puck calls out to his brother, who is sitting outside his tent animatedly talking to Ryder, Kitty, and Marley.

"Bro, you are welcome to stay as long as you'd like." Jake lets him know.

"We have some camping gear. I think we have 3 tents." Puck tells them.

"Quinn Santana and I can-" Santana cuts off Rachel before she can finish.

"No thanks Rach. Bunking with Blaine and Kurt would be bad, because they have months of time to make up for. But you guys? You have years to make up for." Santana shutters and pats Puck on the back.

"I'll be bunking with Puckasaurus here." Puck grins over at Santana, not a trace of his usual pervy comment.

"I'll miss sleeping with you Rach." Oh, there it is. Quinn whips her head to glare at Puck.

"3 minutes and she's already jealous." Puck teases, earning himself a high five from Santana.

"Before you guys get too comfortable..." Dave cuts into the happy reunion. He had been smiling, happy to see so much love, but reality needed to be brought in.

"It's about you were hiding back at Columbus isn't it?" Blaine asks, all attention is on Dave now.

"I couldn't tell you guys back there because things were bad and we just needed to get out of there. I need you to understand that. It was for the good of the group. If I told you. We would have never gotten out alive." Dave tries to explain his reasoning.

"Whatever it is Dave, I appreciate it." Rachel tells him honestly, this seems to give him some courage.

"The reason the city was so crazy was because people came into the city. Shootin up their guns." Puck looks confused as to why this is relevant.

"Idiots." He mutters.

"These people were Finn, Tina, Mike, and Sam." The group is stunned into silence. Rachel hides her face in Quinn's neck at the news. Santana is the one who reacts, instantly reaching for Dave's collar.

"Did you see Brittany?" She asks urgently. Her tone is pleading, begging him to say yes. It's the look in his eye that has Santana sobbing. Quinn is about to reach over to console her best friend when Kurt is the one who does it.

"I didn't. I'm sorry." Dave tells her "And theres more."

"What else could possibly be wrong?" Kurt questions, holding onto the sobbing Santana.

"Mr. Schue and were apart of our group. When they saw Finn and the gang, they went after them." Quinn feels Rachel's tears against her skin.

"We have to go." Puck is already grabbing all of his gear, ready for a fight. Jake overhears him and stands up, his friends following.

"Woah Puck, slow down. Where are you going?" Jake places a hand on his brother.

"Our people are in Columbus. We have to get them." Puck roughly removes himself from his brothers grasp. The whole McKinley gang is getting ready for the fight.

"Kitty was just letting me know what went down- you have to wait." Puck turns around angrily to look at his brother.

"You don't understand. They are my family." Puck tells him urgently.

"I do understand Puck. You have to be logical about this. It's going to be dark soon. Columbus is dangerous enough in the daylight. Let the city calm down for the night. Will knew about the contingency plan. He would tell them to stay holed up until help came. And that's what we're going to do. We'll wait for Daryl, Paul's brother, and get a team over there." Quinn holds onto Rachel for a second before volunteering herself.

"I'll go." Rachel snaps her head up to look at her.

"Are you crazy?" Quinn smiles sadly at the girl.

"I'm the one who tied up at that man to the roof. I need to get him out of there. Plus it's- they're our family." Quinn explains.

"I'm going too." Dave volunteers. "I'm the one who dropped the key."

"I'm going. Finn is my best friend. And Sam and Mike and Tina. I need to get them." Puck tells them.

"In that case I'm going too." Rachel volunteers. Both Puck and Quinn want to argue.

"You stay if you want Quinn, but if Puck goes: I go. We work well together in those situations." Even Puck can't argue with the logic.

"If there is even a slight possibility Britt is there then I'm going." Santana tells them, now that she has composed herself. Blaine and Kurt about to volunteer themselves when Santana and Quinn stop them.

"Sorry Porcelain, I'm riding solo on this one." Kurt looks like he wants to object, but he knows it's futile with Santana.

"Yeah me too Blaine. I need to know you're safe and I need you to watch out for Joey." Blaine looks irritated, but he too knows he won't win against Quinn.

"I guess it's settled. You guys wait for Daryl in the morning. Then you go get your people."

Night falls upon them quickly and three more tents are set up at camp. 2 of them a little further than comfortable with Jake, but he understands these couple need privacy.

It had all started with a murmured.

"What are we doing?" from Quinn.

"Making up for lost time." Rachel whispered against Quinn's lips, just as they were done setting up the tent. Joey loyally keeping look out for them.

"Is this too fast?" Quinn questioned as they were headed for the entrance of the small tent, sleeping bags and quilts already set up inside.

"It's the end of the world Quinn." Rachel complained. "And I think I've been in love with you for years." Rachel confessed. Quinn's eyes widen.

"I think I have been in love with you for a long time now too." Quinn told her.

"I've never... with a girl." Since they're being honest, right? Quinn figured.

"Me neither." Rachel told her.

Now Rachel was lying on top of Quinn, completely bare. Quinn tracing lazy circles on Rachel's lower back. Even if it wasn't freezing outside, they would be sharing a sleeping bag like they were now. Rachel absently places a kiss on Quinn's chest.

"I would have anticipated the end of the world before this." Rachel confesses, Quinn chuckles at this.

"Looks like you got both." Rachel adjusts herself so she can press a kiss to Quinn's lips.

"Did you mean it? When you said you have loved me for years, or were you just saying it because I said it?" Rachel questions the blonde. Quinn presses a passionate kiss to Rachel's lips and pulls away.

"I meant it. Did you?" Quinn has to be sure. Rachel nods and presses her lips to Quinn's again. She'll never grow tired of that. Of Quinn's lips. Of Quinn's taste.

"As much as I love being Naked with you, I do." Rachel assures Quinn. Quinn laughs at this.

"We should put on some clothes and get some rest?" Quinn guesses. Rachel nods at this.

"It's cold and we need some sleep. Tomorrow will be a long day. Besides I think Joey is still outside and he's got to be cold." Quinn smiles at the caring nature that is Rachel Berry.

Sure enough, Joey is loyally watching out for them. And as soon as he's beckoned inside the tent, he falls asleep at their feet. Though they are now fully clothed, their limbs are still tangled together in a loving embrace.

* * *

**Columbus, Ohio City Limits**

Mercedes had never felt so terrified. Brittany's erratic breathing was only getting worse and none of her group was back yet. The RV was consumed by darkness. A fact that could easily change, but she was too afraid to turn on a light, just in case she was spotted.

"Something is very wrong, Britt." Mercedes tells her friend, though she had long since stopped responding. She had barely been lucid all day. She was unconscious more often than not.

"I'll give them until morning. If they don't come by then, I'm following where I think that car alarm was headed." She was trying to convince herself. Talking herself into leaving.

If she had lost Sam, Tina, Finn, and Mike then she sure as hell wasn't losing Britt too.

* * *

**Hello lovelies, **

**I know I said I wouldn't upload a chapter until Monday because of HPOE, but this story has inspired me. And I am stuck on my other one.**

**Some of you Brittanna fans are hardcore! Do not fear. Brittanna next chapter. TWD tomorrow, so expect another update from pure inspiration.**

**Just to clear things up Quinn is not the equivalent of Rick Grimes and Rachel is not Laurie Grimes. This is just Glee with some Walking Dead plot points.**

**Hope y'all enjoyed it! Let me know what you think- A**

**PS-Any TWD characters you would like to see in this fic?**

**PPS-I bet I make you nervous whenever you see the warning of a character death at the beginning of the chapter, don't I?**


	11. Death Toll

**Warning: Character death.**

* * *

**Just outside of Columbus, Ohio**

The night sky was something she had once appreciated. Especially after the spread of the infection. It was the one thing, after all of the horror, she could look up at and see true beauty. The stars sparkling brightly in the sky usually brought a smile to her face. But tonight, tonight it was different. Tonight she felt each one of those stars was a lost soul. And the sound cutting through the night like a knife just added to the tragedy. She couldn't quite categorize the sound. All she knew was that it was heartbreaking.

Howling. That's what it sounds like. The sobs and the wails of those suffering a loss. They sounded like wolves howling to the moon.

So many lives lost. Genuinely good people. Children. Friends. Loved ones.

The bodies were being lined up, side by side. Facing up, eyes blank. She walked by them. One by one. Some of them she didn't know. Others, she had just met. The ones on the end. Those she knew. Those were family.

Rachel looks down at her shirt. She had started the day with it crisp and clean. Now it was covered in blood. The blood of people she loved. Her hands shake, they have been for the last hour or so, not being able to rid the stain of blood. Part of her not wanting to, because in doing so, it would make the day real.

"Don't do this to yourself." She hears Puck tell her, but she isn't even sure what he means. Do what? Stare at the bodies? She's used to seeing bodies. What's 17 more? He lifts an arm to wrap around her, but she ducks from it, not wanting anyone's comfort at the moment.

Rachel looks up at the RV, where most of the noise is coming from. Not the crying, no the injured have been taken in there. Aidan was hard at work, Santana can be heard cursing loudly. The normalcy of the intimidating voice almost makes her smile. _Almost._

Would they be adding anymore to the death toll? Mike is in there, helping with what he can. She should be hysterical, she had just gotten Quinn back. And now? She could lose her again.

Joey waits just outside of the RV, staring diligently at the door. Blaine and Kurt are seated next to the dog. Leaning against one of the wheels.

Some of the men occupy themselves sorting out the walkers and the humans. The walkers are going to a pile to be burned. The humans are to be buried.

A girl hovers over her sisters body, Jessica, at least that's what Rachel thinks her name is. She sobs into the body of her sister, still not having put her down yet. Not completely anyway. Someone needs to put a bullet or a knife in he dead brain before another problem starts. Rachel wonders when she became so cold.

It's a stranger that finally manages to pull Rachel away from pacing the front of the RV to get her cleaned up.

"Let's get you cleaned up." The gruff male voice tells her, placing a tentative hand on her shoulder. She looks up at the man, seeing traces of kindness and genuine concern. He had saved Rachel's life when she wouldn't leave a body behind. So what did this man do? He hoists the body over his shoulder and continues on, even though they were being chased.

"Thanks." The man says quietly, it sounds like it's a word he doesn't say often. He pours water over Rachel's hands, gently rubbing away at the blood.

"For?" Rachel asks, it's her first word since they have arrived.

"You saved my life." Daryl tells her.

"Did I?" She vaguely remembers this, stopping to pull the man to his feet, even though there were walkers all around. Her hands are no longer bloody. Her clothes on the other hand...

"Your girl will be fine." Daryl assures her. Rachel wants to tell him that he shouldn't go around saying stuff like that. Nothing will ever be fine. He's already gone though, moving on to help arrange the bodies.

She tears off her shirt, not caring that she is in the middle of the camp and everyone can see her. She tosses it into the small fire. Puck is quick to offer her his jacket. It's too cold not to wear one.

Rachel stares down at her shirt, the red blood stains disappearing into the flames.

* * *

**_12 hours earlier_**

Rachel woke up, and to her surprise she wasn't cuddled up against Quinn, but Joey instead. He looks at her impatiently as if saying

_Finally, you're up!_

"Quinn already awake Joe?" Rachel asks with a yawn, the dogs tail wags at the name.

"Let's go find her." Joey is quick to obey, finding his way to the entrance of the tent. Rachel exits the tent, nearly crashing right into Quinn.

"Woah there." Quinn smiles, Rachel steadies the blonde, placing her hands at her hips.

"They have coffee here. It's instant, but it is wonderful." Quinn offers a mug to Rachel. Rachel takes one of the mugs from her while placing a soft kiss to her lips.

"Thank you." Quinn's smile is so genuine and so entranced Rachel can't help but laugh. Quinn shrugs.

"I know I know. It's just, is it strange to you? How easy this is for us?" Rachel purses her lips, as if she's deliberating it, but then takes a hold of Quinn's free hand so they can make it back to the rest of the camp.

"Not at all. It feels so natural. Right." Rachel nods at her own choice of words.

"Joey, go up ahead, Blaine has some food for you." Joey speeds off having heard the words 'joey, Blaine, and food'. "It does feel right." Quinn agrees.

"Oh God." Santana groans when Rachel and Quinn walk up to the group hand in hand. "This is exactly what I didn't want to wake up to. You two with the 'just been fucked' faces."

"I'm sensing a bit of frustration." Kitty comments. Santana looks like she is going to come up with a snarky retort, but instead she sighs.

"So much damn pent up frustration." Santana agrees, Puck pats her sympathetically on the back. Wearing a 'I know how you're feeling bro' face.

"Is Daryl back?" Puck asks anxiously. Jake stands up to look around for any evidence that the man has arrived. Maybe a dead squirrel or something.

"I'm here. Who're you?" A man asks. This man screams intimidation. If it isn't his steely gaze, or his leather vest, or the cross bow he holds confidently. Then it has something to do with the dead squirrels he's wearing as a belt.

"They pick you up during the run? PAUL! Ey Paul c'mere! I got us some squirrels!" Daryl calls out looking for his brother. Dave steps up to the man.

"Sup." Daryl greets the man easily, trying to look past him.

"Dude, I have to tell you something." Dave tells the man, pulling him aside. Daryl gets angrier by the second, and soon he starts swinging his fists. Dave just takes the beating. Puck comes around and stops him, holding him in a head lock.

"LET ME GO! LET ME GO!" Daryl yells, trying to lunge at Dave again. Puck's hold is too strong though.

"I'm not gonna do that man." The rest of the group, or the main ones really, circle around the struggling men.

"If you're going to hit anyone hit me." Quinn steps up right in front of Daryl. The man eyes her, and then Rachel who steps protectively in front of Quinn.

"I ain't gonna hit no girl." He mutters, no longer struggling.

"I'm the one who chained him up there. You're his brother, I'm guessing you know better than anyone what he's like." Quinn explains, the man nods resolutely. "He was putting us in danger. I needed to stop him. I never planned on leaving him up there."

"That was my fault." Dave announces. Daryl tries to lunge at him again, but Puck's hold is firm.

"Dave do us a favor and shut up." Rachel tells him, there is no malice in her voice. She isn't mad at the boy, but he's not helping the matter. Dave nods and takes a couple steps back.

"We're going back into the city." Rachel tells the man. He looks up at the girls, wondering if they're serious.

"Why would you risk your necks to save a guy you don't even like?" He questions, honestly curious.

"We have some people stuck in Columbus." Rachel tells him.

"You have no weapons. Not enough at least" He eyes his crossbow, forgotten during the struggle.

"That's not necessarily true." Quinn tells them. Everyones attention is suddenly on Quinn.

"When we were in the city, I saw this duffel bag, right next to a tank. It was full of guns. I'm betting it has ammo too. It's right there for anyone to grab." Pucks eyes light up with excitement at the sound of having more weapons to defend himself and the people he loves with.

"What are y'all waiting for then?" Daryl asks, Puck slowly lets go of him.

"You." Santana tells him impatiently. She just needs to know if Brittany is in Columbus.

"Let's get going then!" Daryl picks up his crossbow, and that is how that conversation goes. No questions asked, no real strategy is talked about.

"Quinn you can't just expect me to-" Quinn glares at Blaine, effectively stopping her friend.

"I can and I will. I need you to stay with Joey. You and Kurt have found one another. Be happy about it. Leave the rest to us." Blaine doesn't like the idea, just like Kurt has Santana and Rachel has Puck, Blaine has Quinn. They each have their person that has their backs, letting their partner go is hard.

"Quinn." His tone is pleading, but he knows Quinn will ultimately win this fight. "I-"

"I know Blaine." Quinn cuts him off. " I do too." Blaine holds her in a tight embrace, very similar to what Kurt and Santana are doing. Daryl, Rachel, Puck, and Dave already choosing out a vehicle to take.

In the end they take two cars. Puck, Santana, and Daryl in one car. Dave, Rachel, and Quinn in the other. Both Puck and Rachel feel a bit uncomfortable not being right next to each other, after months being of attached at the hip they're having separation anxiety.

"I don't like that you left your gun with Kitty." Rachel confesses to Quinn, they sit in the back seat so they can curl up against each other. Dave muttering something about feeling like a chauffeur.

"I'll pick up another one in the city. Besides, I have you to protect me right?" Quinn meant it to sound teasing, but Rachel is a bundle of nerves. She would have preferred for Quinn to stay behind.

"You have to listen to me out there, ok?" Rachel tells her urgently. "I mean it. You're not used to this. I know what I'm doing out here. So please, if I tell you to run and not look back, you have to do it." Quinn searches Rachel's pleading eyes. They had stayed up into the wee hours of the morning going over some of their horror stories. Quinn had explained that she didn't have many because she had just woken up.

"I would never be able to leave you-" Quinn starts, cupping Rachel's cheek.

"It's not your choice Quinn!" Rachel tells her fiercely. "Promise me you'll listen." Quinn can see the scars in Rachel's eyes, she has been through a lot. Quinn is nowhere near as experienced as Rachel.

"Promise." Quinn breathes against Rachel's lips. She presses a soft, gentle kiss to her lips.

"You're mine, right?" Quinn asks, her lips ghosting against Rachel's. Rachel smiles at the simplicity of the words. Only Quinn would ask her to be her girlfriend in three words.

"I am. And you're mine."

Getting into the city was the easy part. Especially with Rachel and Puck's expertise at these situations. They even surprised Daryl. They took a diamond formation. Puck at point. Rachel and Daryl on ether side. Quinn and Santana behind them, respectively. And Dave bringing up the rear. Under no circumstances were they allowed to break formation. And guns were only allowed as a last resort.

"Were you two army?" Daryl asks Rachel and Puck as they knock out 7 'biters' as Daryl liked to call them, between the two of them in less than a minute.

"Not a chance." Puck snorted. He held a bit of resentment towards the military for not keeping a cool head when shit hit the fan.

"It's just up ahead." Dave tells them pointing to the pharmacy just down the street. It had been eerily quiet in comparison the the previous day.

They had decided to go to Paul first, well technically 2nd because the guns were just outside of the pharmacy in front of the tank. Then Dave was to take them in the general direction Will had disappeared to.

"Got it!" Puck tells them lifting the duffel bag full of weapons that Quinn had told them about. He lugs it over his shoulder and holds the Machete back up into ready position.

"Santana get the door." Puck tells her, Santana instantly gets to her knees in front of the Pharmacy and starts to pick the lock as they all keep watch.

"You kids are just full of surprises." Daryl mutters when Santana swings the door open. They enter the pharmacy, guns raised, just in case.

"Oh Fuck. Santana, you're alive." The all too familiar voice of Sam Evans curses.

"Oh my god, Tina!" Rachel gasps, running straight into the arms of her old friend. Tina is known to be a crier, so it is no surprise that she cries for this occasion.

After their heartfelt embraces Quinn leads Daryl to where she locked Paul. Dave follows.

"Kurt is alive, so is Blaine." Rachel tells Finn. Their embrace hadn't been as awkward as she expected it to be. They were both simply happy to see one another alive. He had even told her that Rachel and Quinn complimented each other well.

"What do you mean you shot her?" Santana suddenly bellows. Sam looks down guiltily, not even bothering to try and explain himself. Mike tries to tell her what went down, but it's too late. Santana is already beating Sam's face in. Daryl is the one who pulls the Latina off of him, returning from the stairwell looking disappointed.

"What happened?" Rachel asks Quinn, taking a hold of her hand. Quinn looks so sad and guilty Rachel just wants to find a way to make her feel better.

"He cut off his hand. He's gone. Daryl says his trail went cold at the edge of the building but there isn't a body."

"You did what you had to do. These days Quinn, that is all that matters." She smiles slightly, but instead looks at Sam's bloody face and Santana thrashing wildly against Daryl.

"What happened here?" Santana is sobbing now, right into Daryl. He looks so uncomfortable about it too. He pats her back awkwardly.

"You're Daryl right?" Sam asks the man holding Santana. He nods.

"Will told us about you. You guys have an EMT right?" He nods again. Sam turns around and pulls out a brand new crossbow. Daryl's eyes light up like a kids on Christmas morning.

"Get us back?" Daryl takes the crossbow Sam is offering over to him like it is the holy grail. He nods again, speechless by the kindness and perseverance of these teenagers.

"I'll do my best." The man promises. His crossbow used to have a bit of sentimental value to him, but what matters now is that it hardly ever worked. And he needed a working weapon.

"We have to go!" Santana wails, falling into Puck's arms. Quinn walks over to Dave who is standing at the back of the pharmacy looking through some of the medication as Santana explains why she is crying.

"Anything good back here?" Quinn questions, also looking through the medication. She packs vitamins into her bag, because, why the hell not?

"Looks like Kitty really cleared this place up." Dave tells her. He nods over at the gauzes right behind Quinn, telling her to pack some. Suddenly there is a loud crash and Dave is screaming. Quinn turns around just in time to see 3 walkers have made their way inside, one of them currently tearing off a piece of Dave's arm. Then proceeds to make a meal out of Dave. Shelves fall backwards on top of Quinn. She falls back and is knocked unconscious.

Finn watches the scene in horror. Just as a walker is about to tear his teeth into Quinn he shoots it through the head.

"QUINN!" Rachel screeches, running over to Quinn, she has a bleeding head wound, and it is gushing blood. She is also pinned under some of the heavy shelves.

"They must have gotten in through the back!" Sam yells, they are all instantly helping remove the shelves.

"Guys this is our cue, every biter in the city heard the gunshot!" Daryl urges. Finn looks between Rachel and Quinn, he knows what he has to do.

"I've got her. Puck, cover me!" Finn lifts Quinn up into his arms. Rachel takes an automatic gun from Puck's bag. Everyone is geared up and ready to go. Mike, Sam, and Puck will all be covering Finn. Santana, Tina, Rachel, and Daryl get into another formation.

The military always likes to say that war is controlled chaos. What this group steps out onto is anything but controlled, it is just double the chaos. Rachel watches Finn carry Quinn helplessly, while still trying to cover her group. They all stay in formation, not caring the noise they are creating by using their guns. Even Daryl opted not to use his new crossbow. They make it maybe 3 blocks when Daryl falls, having been tackled by a walker. Rachel should just leave him there, her priority is up ahead in Finn's arms, but instead she sprays bullets all around her, shoves the walkers body aside and pulls Daryl to his feet.

Rachel is surprised how fast Finn can move with Quinn in his arms. In fact, they are a good block ahead of them. Tina isn't exactly the best shot, but she is great at whacking the shit out of them with her gun.

"I'm on my last mag!" Daryl hollers over. Tina, pulls one out form her back pocket and tosses it over to Daryl. It is this momentary distraction that costs Tina her life. A walker comes up from behind her and chomps right into her throat. She isn't even able to emit a scream, there is just this awful gurgling sound where blood spills into her lungs. She's dead almost instantly. Mike is so far up ahead he doesn't even realize his girlfriend is dead.

"NO NO NO NO, TINA!" Rachel shoots the zombie right between the eyes brain matter spilling out the back of it's head. Rachel sobs, trying to pull Tina up. This is one of the moments were Rachel really hates her size. She can't just leave Tina's body to be devoured.

"God dammit girl, you better cover me." Daryl mutters, handing Rachel his gun and tossing Tina over his shoulder. He takes Rachel's piece from her waist line. It only has 8 bullets, so he better make them last.

"C'MON!" Santana bellows shooting with an unearthly accuracy at all the biters. The group catches up to each other just as they reach the vehicles. They are quick to get in and move out.

Rachel found her way into the same vehicle as Quinn. She presses against the wound, staunching the blood. Blood spills out all over her hands, arms and shirt. She needs to get the bleeding to stop. The car in front of them, that holds a distraught Mike, holding Tina's body, comes to a halt just outside of an RV. Sam and Santana go running to the RV, without a weapon in their hands.

This is already a huge mistake because the area is full of walkers that weren't there before. Rachel watches the scene before her play in slow motion. Mercedes runs out of the RV, a huge smile on her face. Happy to see Sam and Santana. Out of nowhere a walker comes out from behind her, Daryl is already getting out of the car, but he is too late. The walker bites right into Mercedes shoulder. Daryl is only a second late, an arrow finds home in the biters skull.

Mercedes is still alive, but we all know what comes next. They have no chance to really go over anything because Daryl hops into the other vehicle with Mike, ready to drive the car. Daryl is the first to pull away. The Zombies are too close for any other decision ti be made. Finn is the next to peel out. Rachel turns around to watch Sam help Mercedes into the RV. Santana already inside, and then the RV is right behind them.

When Finn parks the car at the camp he does not expect to pull into a whole other tragedy, but he hears the screams before he sees any trouble. Rachel is quick to react when she sees a group of four walkers closing in on Jake, Ryder, Marley, and Kitty. It seems they are all out of ammo.

She doesn't make it in time to save all four of them, Ryder is bit before she can take all four of them down.

Gun shots echo through the once peaceful camp. Arrows are zooming into geeks heads. Joey is barking wildly, calling for attention. Two walkers are closing in on Blaine and Kurt, Joey stays loyally at their side, growling at them. Daryl takes them both down before anymore harm can be done.

"AIDAN!" Rachel yells, once all the shooting has stopped and the biters have been killed. Hoping the man is still alive amongst all the death.

"Right here!" He waves trying to console someone who has been bit. They'll bleed out in seconds.

"It's Quinn! She's knocked out!" Aidan nods and heads over to the car Rachel is standing by just as the RV pulls in.

"AIDAN YOU MOTHER FUCKER I NEED YOU!" Santana sobs, he looks over at Rachel, unsure of what to do.

"Get Allison if she is still alive. I was teaching her about all of this stuff. Bring Quinn into the RV and we'll get her checked out."

Luckily Finn was around to hear this, because as soon as Quinn was taken into the RV, Rachel shut down. Puck went to retrieve this Allison person to help. Mike was also recruited. And the bodies were now all being sorted.

Rachel stands before the lifeless bodies of Mercedes and Tina. Tina had a gash on the side of her head where it seems a knife was inserted. Mercedes, a bullet. She wonders if Mercedes did it herself or if Sam will forever be haunted by the fact that he had to pull the trigger.

Rachel feels as lifeless as the bodies of her friends. No, they weren't just friends, they were family. And now they were gone. Night is rapidly approaching. The sunset is beautiful, such irony after the horror filled day Rachel has had.

The death toll is rising. Rachel wonders how high it will go.

* * *

**_Back to present_**

Mike steps out of the RV looking completely drained. He doesn't smile when he looks at Rachel, but he does tell her the news she has been waiting for.

"She's asking for you." Rachel nods, feeling rude to smile in front of Mike. She steps into the RV just as this Allison girl is stepping off.

"Thank you." Rachel tells the girl. The girl also doesn't smile, but she nods.

Aidan is hovering over a bed, checking his patients.

Rachel's breath catches in her throat. Not only because Quinn is alive and well _and_ smiling at her, but because Santana is kneeling next to the bed, grasping tightly to none other than Brittany S. Pierce.

"I found her Rach." Santana whispers brokenly. Happy tears stream down the Latina's face. Brittany is unconscious, but if the look on Santana's face is any indication Britt will be just fine.

"I'm assuming you're here to take Quinn?" Aidan actually smiles. He should, he saved 2 lives today.

"Is she ok to move?" Rachel asks him cautiously. Rachel steps around him and mirrors Santana's position, kneeling next to the bed and taking hold of Quinn.

"She shouldn't move too much, but she needs one established resting spot, and I am guessing this isn't it." Quinn smiles at Rachel, but her eyes are drooping.

"I'm guessing our tent will be that spot." Rachel tells the EMT. He nods, he guessed so much.

"Ok, I'll help you take her there, but once she's in there you can't let her sleep. Not for a while, and when you do let her sleep you have to wake her up every 3 hours to ask her some questions. I'm afraid she might have a concussion." Rachel nods, burning the instructions into her mind.

"Hey Rachel." Quinn calls out to Rachel groggily.

"Yes Quinn?" Rachel asks getting some help from Aidan to lift her girlfriend to her feet.

"I'm alive. Britt's alive. I think it was a good day." Rachel doesn't have the heart to tell her just yet, so she simply hums. Just as they reach the door to the RV, Rachel turns to look at Santana. She has now taken occupancy in the bed and has pulled Brittany close.

Santana looks so happy, despite all of the sadness going on around her. Rachel figures if Santana can be optimistic, than so can she.

* * *

**Sooo tired, but I needed to write this before sleeping.**

**I'm getting mixed reviews about adding a TWD character, if I do, it'll only be in passing. I do that a lot in my stories. I bring in characters from different areas of fiction and put them in briefly. I think that's what I'll do here.**

**So much death :( I know, but the herd needed to be thinned out.**

**Todays Death's:**

**Dave Karofsky- Mercedes Jones -Tina Cohen-Change- Ryder Lynn - 14 other from Jakes** **group**

**Hope you guys enjoyed it!**

**Let me know what you think -A**


	12. Aftermath

Throughout the night Rachel made sure to wake Quinn every couple of hours. She would ask her name, her birthday, and her phone number (before the infection). Finally, by the third time, Quinn said Rachel's name, Rachel's birthday, and Rachel's phone number. Rachel wasn't aware Quinn knew so much about her. She decided if Quinn was able to mock her then it was ok for her to finally get a couple of hours of sleep curled up next to the blonde.

That is why when morning arrived Rachel was so exhausted. She didn't mind being woken up though, especially because she was being woken up to soft lips pressed against her temple.

"Mmm. How's the head?" Rachel asks sleepily, Quinn hovers over her, admiring the view that is Rachel Berry. Rachel reaches up to softly touch at the bandaging around Quinn's head then sliding it to cup her cheek.

"It's better now." Quinn breathes, dipping down to capture Rachel's lips with her own. Rachel only allows it for a moment, worried about getting too carried away. Quinn pouts, but plops back down so she is only leaning against Rachel rather than hovering over her. "You know, I had this song stuck in my head all night. Is this how it feels to be Rachel Berry? If so, it's exhausting." Quinn teases. Rachel rolls her eyes, but finds herself enjoying this lighter side of Quinn

"What song?" Rachel questions, running her hand down to rest on Quinn's waist.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Quinn's mouth twists into a teasing smile.

"You're not going to make me beg are you?" Rachel asks in a soft voice. Quinn shakes her head, the small smile still set.

"Now that I try to remember it, I don't really know the lyrics. It's a Bryan Adams song. Lame right?" Quinn chuckles, but Rachel doesn't seem to like this answer.

"Fine." Quinn sighs. "It something like...To really love a woman, let her hold you" She sings it in a whisper, sounding more like she is reciting the lyric then singing. Her voice occasionally reaches a louder volume but mostly stays hushed. "Til' you know how she needs to be touched."Her fingers caress down Rachel's cheek, down to her collar bone. "You've gotta breathe her, really taste her..." More of the melody drifts into Quinn's voice, but she trails off not knowing the words "And I don't know the rest." Quinn sings in the melody of the song. Rachel laughs, pressing a soft kiss to Quinn's lips.

"I would have never anticipated Quinn Fabray serenading me with Bryan Adams. You hit your head pretty hard didn't you?" Rachel brushes her fingers across Quinn's lips, then reaches behind her neck to bring their lips together again.

"Don't pretend like you're not swooning." Quinn whispers against Rachel's lips.

"You're in an awfully good mood this morning." Rachel smiles, rolling over so she is the one now slightly leaning on Quinn.

"Why wouldn't I be? Britt is alive. We saved our friends. I woke up next to you." Quinn's smile wavers when she sees the flicker of sadness in Rachel's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"Quinn, a lot happened while you were passed out." Rachel tells her softly, her voice shaking

* * *

Puck is used to seeing so much death, he really is. He's walked down highways littered with dead bodies. He's entered towns with limbs strewn about the streets.

What Puck isn't so used to is seeing so many familiar faces, cold and unmoving. Sweat drips down his brow as he continues to dig graves for those who lost their lives. So many dead. He's only ever dug one grave. Now there is quite a bit more than that.

They had left the bodies alone overnight, after they arranged them into piles that is. They all agreed a nights rest was needed. Even if it would only be a few hours. Mike and Sam had tears streaming down their faces as they dug graves for the girls they loved. That is one thing Puck is grateful for, his girls are alive. Though it's not the same as what Mike and Sam felt for Tina and Mercedes, those are the only girls he needs. He doesn't know what he would do if he lost either Rachel or Quinn(Or even Britt and Santana) He can't even imagine how he would feel if he lost a woman he was actually in love with.

A putrid smell suddenly fills his nose. A billow of smoke rises just to the left of the camp. Daryl must be burning the bodies.

"Hey, need some help?" Maggie asks Puck, a shovel in her hand. Puck had noticed her digging graves all morning. Only three more to go.

"Yeah, thanks." Puck nods, allowing her to help him.

"It's not safe here anymore." Maggie comments, Puck figures she is simply making small talk, so he just shrugs. He's never been fond of small talk.

"I think you should talk to your brother." Maggie adds. Puck turns over to look at the boy in question. He was consoling his girlfriend and Kitty as they cried over the loss of a friend.

"What am I supposed to tell him?" Puck asks her, already regretting allowing her to help him.

"That we should get out of here and find camp somewhere else." Puck stops shoveling into the dirt and stares at Maggie.

"We?" Puck deadpans.

"Well yeah, we're a group now." Maggie tells him likes it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"Sorry babe, my group is Rachel. It's been her and I since the very beginning." Puck doesn't like the idea of being responsible for the lives of the people left over. He could see the guilt his brother felt for losing so much of his group. He didn't want that burden.

"I've been watching you guys- Rachel won't leave without Quinn. Quinn won't leave without Blaine. Blaine won't leave Kurt behind. Kurt and Santana are a package deal. I'm betting Santana will never let Brittany out of her sight again. By the way Sam keeps looking at the RV, I bet he and Brittany are kind of a team. And I know you guys aren't leaving Finn and Mike behind. So tell me, who exactly is your group?" Puck arches his eyebrow at the woman, slightly impressed.

"You remembered everyones names?" He asks instead of answering the question.

"You would just leave your brother behind?" Maggie asks instead. Puck glances over at his brother. No, he wouldn't. Which means Marley and Kitty are also a part of the deal.

"This isn't dodgeball Puckerman, you don't get to just choose your team."

"I'm not going to risk my life and the lives of the people I love by letting just anyone tag along." Puck tells her adamantly, thrusting his shovel into the dirt.

"So you're just going to save your own ass?" Puck smirks at the woman, something about getting her riled up is hot.

"I think the end of the world entitles me to some self preservation." He tells her, Maggie steps out of the grave angrily, refusing to let him get to her.

"You're disgusting." Maggie spits. This stirs something in Puck.

"Why because I want to keep my family alive, no matter what the cost?" Puck asks, also stepping out of the grave.

"And if it costs you your humanity?" Maggie asks him, Puck is stunned into silence. He watches Maggie retreat letting her shovel drop to her side.

* * *

"Hey." Sam says, he had eyed the RV long enough. It was time to check on Britt.

Santana looks up at the doorway from where she lays in bed next to Brittany, still fast asleep. Though the color in her face has returned. Santana is about to come up with a nasty retort. Sam is the one who shot her girlfriend after all. The word girlfriend stirs the image of Mercedes in her mind. How Mercedes told Sam she loved him, then took a pistol to her brain so Sam wouldn't have to do it. Sam had been the one to clean up her blood, scraping fragments of skull off the door of the RV.

"Hey." Santana sits up so she can look him over better. She really did a number on him. Sam was sporting a swollen shut black eye and a fat lip, but he didn't seem angry about it.

"How is she doing?" Sam asks, stepping into the bedroom of the RV. The mattress had already been take out, they would need to find a new one so Brittany can recover easier. The bloodied one, along with the sheets, was burning with the bodies.

"Better. She hasn't woken up yet, but Aidan said it's normal. That her body is exhausted." Sam nods looking Brittany up and down, trying to find any other part of her that may be harmed.

"Oh no." Brittany groans, neither of them had noticed that she had been stirring. Santana immediately looks over Brittany with concern. Sam steps closer as well.

"What's wrong baby?" Santana asks, her hands fluttering over Brittany helplessly.

"You went all Lima Heights on Sam's face." Brittany blinks around the room a few times, finally settling her eyes on Santana. Both Sam and Santana can't help but laugh loudly at this, both in relief.

"She had to Britt." Sam tells Brittany, though he had a feeling she couldn't hear him. Brittany was focused solely on Santana.

"I'll give you guys some privacy." Sam whispers, but before he can leave Brittany grabs a hold of his hand.

"Wait. C'mere." Sam leans in closer, but by the shake of Brittany's head it doesn't seem close enough so he leans in more. Brittany presses a soft kiss to his cheek. She is still very weak.

"Thank you Sam." Brittany sighs, he gives her a tight smile. " I -Mercedes-" Even though Brittany wasn't lucid most of the time, she had heard Mercedes in her last moments. She owed her life to both Mercedes and Sam. The blonde boys eyes flash with hurt at the name, so instead Brittany changes her approach.

"I love you Sam." Brittany figures it's the end of the world that she needs to tell her family she loves them as much as she can.

"Love you too Britt." Santana watches the scene with a smile on her face. She hasn't forgiven Sam. In fact, part of her still wants to beat his face in, even if it is a bit unreasonable, but she gives a nod to Sam in thanks. He nods back and exits.

"Am I dead?" Brittany asks Santana suddenly. Santana scoots over in the bed so she can lie next to her girlfriend.

"No baby, you're not." Santana assures her brushing her hair out of her face.

"It's ok if I am, because I'm with you." Santana smiles at this and shakes her head, tears prickling in her eyes.

"You're alive Britt. I love you so much." Brittany smiles at the proclamation.

"I knew you were alive." Brittany breathes. Santana can't help herself anymore, she has to lean in and press her lips against Brittany's. Brittany responds in kind, but her body is still weak so it's not as enthusiastic as Santana would like. In fact, Santana has to remind herself to take it easy on Britt, kissing is all their going to be doing for a while.

It doesn't stop Brittany from trying though. Her hand carefully sneaks her way up Santana's shirt. She pouts when Santana pulls away laughing.

"Easy there tiger. Let's not strain you just yet." She sits up, trying to cool herself down. Brittany's light touch on her bare skin set her on fire. She really is sexually frustrated.

There is a light knock on the doorway that distracts both girls. Rachel and Quinn enter, a secure arm around the injured blondes waist. Brittany beams at the sight.

"You two had sex!" It's almost a cheer. Quinn turns bright red but the exclamation doesn't seem to bother Rachel.

"Not last night." Quinn mutters, upset. It wasn't meant for anyone to hear, but Santana guffaws with laughter.

"Oh don't complain, you could have had a concussion." Rachel reprimands, but she presses a kiss to Quinn's cheek anyway.

"Who knew you had it in you Q." Santana laughs, getting up off the bed so Quinn can take the spot, the blonde has bruised ribs and a head injury she needs it more than Santana. Instead the Latina goes to sit in a chair next to Brittany.

"Did Aidan say it was alright for them to eat yet?" Rachel questions mirroring Santana's position.

"He did." Aidan tells them stepping into the RV. He has a bright smile on his face, happy to see two blondes well on their way to recovery. "You might not want to Brittany, but you need the nutrients. We'll start you off with some type of broth and that nasty bread stuff they serve in the MRE's." Brittany pretends to gag.

"And it's going to slightly hurt for you to eat Quinn, but you also need to eat. I know none of us are getting enough food these days-" Aidan looks around the RV that is filled to the brim with MRE boxes. "Though that could change. You are still skinnier than I'd like you to be Quinn, we need to get more meat on your bones." Rachel nods, making sure to remember this.

"I'm just going to take a look at your head and change the bandaging on both of you and then you can eat."

* * *

Finn pours over the map in front of him, wanting to distract himself from so much death. They aren't holding the memorials until sunset that way they can get everybody checked out and all the people buried.

"What are you doing?" Mike asks, taking a seat next to Finn, his voice hoarse. They must be done with the graves. Mike needed the distraction so he had been digging all day.

"Thinking. We're not safe here. Those biters came up here. And we're in the middle of nowhere. We need to get out." Mike nods, eyes scanning over the map. Finn has circled various locations.

Marley and Maggie take a seat next to the men, offering them each some water. They take it graciously. Blaine and Kurt also find their way over.

"What you got there?" Jake asks, also joining the group.

"Dude, we aren't safe here." Finn tells him not bothering to look up from the map. He misses Jake's nod of agreement.

"So what do we do?" Daryl asks, joining the group with Puck.

"We get out of here." Finn tells them, Blaine reaches over and points at a particular circle.

"Shouldn't we stay out of big cities like Cleveland?" Everyone nods at Blaine's question.

"Isn't that where-" Kitty asks she looking over Finn's shoulder.

"Yup." Finn nods placing the map down on the ground so everyone can see.

"Where what?" Aidan asks, just having stepped off the RV, he isn't really sure what's going on but it seems important.

"The CDC is in Cleveland. I think that's our next move." Finn tells the group, all faces staring at him.

* * *

**Thank you all for the reviews!**

**This week has been really hectic. I'm sort of between jobs right now so I'm not sure I'll be able to update as frequently.**

**Hope you guys are all enjoying it.**

**Let me know what you think! - A**


	13. Blinding Light

_Feliz dia de los Muertos!_

* * *

Colors bleed into one another. The orange blends into yellows, greens, and blues. Casting off pink clouds into the sky. A gorgeous sunset. A beautiful way to send of their friends. Send them where? Santana isn't sure.

What kind of God creates a world like this? Though Santana isn't sure where her beliefs stand she is sure her friends Tina and Mercedes are in a better place.

"Why did you bring her?" Santana hisses at the sight of Sam carrying Brittany over to the grave site. Where 17 crosses lined the freshly turned earth. Brittany is too weak to move on her own, she shouldn't be out and about, especially not for something as sad as this.

"Don't be mad." Brittany pouts at Santana, going for the kill. Santana cannot resist a pouting Brittany.

"You should be resting." Santana sighs. Sam sets Brittany down on a chair Mike brought up for her.

"I get it Santana, Britt is your girl. But she was mine and Tina's too. Ok that sounded better in my head. What I mean is- Tina, Brittany, and I-we had made it this far. We both need to say goodbye." Sam steps slightly behind Brittany, hovering over her like Joey hovers near Quinn.

Quinn is also ushered into a chair, though she looks annoyed by the fact. One withering look from Rachel and Quinn shuts her mouth. Blaine stands next to Quinn's other side. Everyone seems to be standing next to their 'partners'.

The larger group that the New Directions infiltrated are just finishing off their memorial to their loved ones. Some even say prayers, Santana resists rolling her eyes. Though she catches the Kitty girl blatantly rolling her own. She gets an elbow jab from Marley though she too doesn't seem to like this particular part of their memorial.

Puck's brother stands before the group, really owning up to his leadership, saying kind words about the deceased and offering words of comfort for those who wail. The larger group, though not that much larger anymore, disperse after that. The New Directions are surprised by some people waiting around to pay their respects to two people they never met.

"Anyone want to say anything?" Puck asks gruffly after a couple of moments of uncomfortable silence. Sam stands stock still, rigid with grief.

"Tina saved my life on more than one occasion. And Mercedes spent her last moments keeping me alive. They were true heroes." Brittany speaks up from her chair.

"I'm going to miss them." Blaine adds.

"I love you Tina, I know you're in a better place now." Mike offers aloud in a thick voice.

"Bye Mercedes" Sam whispers, though not everyone hears him. Brittany does though, so she reaches her hand back to grasp onto Sam's. He takes it gratefully.

"I didn't know them or nothin'." Daryl speaks up, surprising the group. "But they must have been somethin real special if their friends were willing to risk their lives for their bodies."

"I've never been good at expressing my feelings of loss, I know that comes to a surprise to some of you." Rachel steps between the graves not turning to look at her friends. "I can through music. And it only seems fitting that I sing my goodbye to my friends. Tina, Mercedes, you two were my first friends in high school, along with Kurt." Rachel turns to look at him over her shoulder, he smiles slightly.

Rachel takes a deep breath, standing before the graves of her friends. This isn't a performance. It's a goodbye.

_Just yesterday morning, they let me know you were gone._

_Suzanne, the plans they made put an end to you._

_I walked out this morning and I wrote down this song,_

_I just can't remember who to send it to._

_I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end._

_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again._

_Won't you look down upon me, Jesus, You've got to help me make a stand._

_You've just got to see me through another day._

_My body's aching and my time is at hand and I won't make it any other way._

_Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end._

_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend, but I always thought that I'd see you again._

_Been walking my mind to an easy time, my back turned towards the sun._

_Lord knows when the cold wind blows it'll turn your head around._

_Well, there's hours of time on the telephone line to talk about things to come._

_Sweet dreams and flying machines in pieces on the ground._

_Oh, I've seen fire and I've seen rain. I've seen sunny days that I thought would never end._

_I've seen lonely times when I could not find a friend,_

_but I always thought that I'd see you baby, one more time again, now._

_Thought I'd see you one more time again._

_There's just a few things coming my way this time around, now._

_Thought I'd see you, thought I'd see you, fire and rain, now._

No one makes a sound, except for the sniffling. It seems it has even brought Marley and Kitty to tears.

Sam doesn't even bother to wipe away the tears, he just stares blankly at the cross with the name _Mercedes_ carved across it. Finn grasps Mikes shoulder in support. Mike holds onto Finn's hand, acting as his anchor. Kurt cries into Blaine's shoulder. Joey lays his head in Quinn's lap, the dog may not know what is going on, but he knows his person needs comfort. Puck steps towards Rachel, carefully taking her hand.

"Damn." Daryl breathes off to the side, in complete in awe.

* * *

"So you guys are probably wondering why we've asked you all to join us." Jake begins standing before the remainder of his people.

"It's clear that it is no longer safe here. And I've been talking to my brother and his friends. They're headed for Cleveland. For the Center for Disease Control." Finn pats Jake on the shoulder and steps before the group.

"I hear rumors that they were trying to come up with a cure. I figure if they are coming up with a cure in a place like this, then it must be safe. We're headed there, you are all welcome to join us. We do not guarantee your safety though. As we have all seen, it isn't safe out there. It'll be a dangerous journey, but that's where we're headed. We leave bright and early tomorrow morning." Chatter immediately breaks out with skeptical opinions.

"You have all been like my family these last couple of months, but I completely understand if you won't be joining us. Let us know in the morning. For now, it's been a long day, lets get some rest." Jake dismisses his group, preparing fot the next leg of a journey.

* * *

The sun is barely rising, but the occupants of the camp are wide awake. Some of them being served coffees. Gear is packed, cars are loaded. Everyone stands near the vehicles. The only people not present are Brittany and Santana, both of whom stayed in the RV.

"So have you all decided?" Jake asks his group tentatively.

"I'm with the new kids. I've seen them in action." Daryl walks over to the New Directions almost crossing some invisible line, just like Maggie had put it, choosing a team.

Marley silently walks over and stands next to Rachel. Kitty follows.

Aidan looks torn, these people have been with him practically since the infection hit, but something in his gut told him he needed to go with the New Directions. He was an EMT so he is a valuable asset. Blaine finds himself sighing in relief when Aidan steps over next to him and Kurt. Upon seeing Aidan choose his side, Alison follows. That is one more person with some medical training.

Puck finds himself smirking when Maggie trudges past him, shoving hims slightly in the process.

No one else moves.

"I can see you guys are doing right by your family. I'm going to do the same." Jim tells them stepping up to both Jake and Finn, shaking each of their hands. Finn holds up a finger and runs over to the RV, he returns with an M-16 and some ammo.

"Be safe out there." Finn tells the man.

"Thank you." The man breathes in awe of the kindness. He scurries over to his family. They get into a station wagon and drive off.

The remaining 6 decide to try their luck on their own. Finn returns with three guns for them. Their arsenal is impressive but they can't spare all of their weapons.

"You all know what you have gotten yourselves into, right?" Puck asks, standing before people who he will now have to consider family.

"We're still here aren't we?" Daryl asks rhetorically.

"Ok then, let's separate into vehicles." No one really moves. Puck sighs suddenly feeling like a school teacher.

"Sam take your RV with Kurt, Blaine, Mike, Alison and Aidan. Daryl I'm guessing you're taking your bike?" Puck asks the man.

"Damn straight." He nods at this.

"Alright Quinn, I think you need to go into the RV too. You're injured."

"I'm not an invalid." Quinn grunts.

"Why do you have to be so difficult?" Rachel argues.

"I'm not going to be stuck in the RV, I know you're going to want to travel with Puck." Rachel can't even argue there. She feels most comfortable when traveling with Noah. She figures the Jeep can take the lead, keeping the group safe.

"Ok. Finn you go with Jake, Marley, and Kitty in their truck. We'll load you guys up with some supplies from the RV." Finn agrees.

"Maggie, Rach, Quinn. Y'all are with me." Maggie looks frustrated by this.

"Seriously, with you?" She asks annoyed.

"Deal with it babe." Puck smirks.

"Let's get moving guys- we're losing daylight." Rachel calls out, leading Quinn towards the Jeep. The trunk will have to be partly unloaded for Joey to fit with them.

* * *

"Ow." Quinn winces when they hit another ditch in the road.

"I told you." Puck mutters looking at Quinn through the rear view mirror.

"No one likes I told you so's, Puckerman." Maggie punches his arm. He flinches away from her, swerving slightly.

"Watch it woman." Puck growls.

"Noah if you don't drive more carefully I'm going up there and driving myself." Rachel states, annoyed. She pulls Quinn against her so she is taking up most of the back seat. Quinn smiles up at Rachel, enjoying the comfort.

"I'm ok Rach." Quinn tells her as they hit another bump in the road. Quinn winces again.

"Noah!" Rachel screeches reaching for him. Maggie laughs hysterically in the passenger seat as Puck scoots forward away from the wrath of Rachel. Quinn tries her very best to hold her back.

"SORRY!" Puck calls back "But this isn't exactly the easiest terrain."

Quinn settles on calming Rachel down with a peck on the cheek. It calms her down, for now anyway.

* * *

"So you just took charge?" Finn asks behind the wheel of Jake's truck. Marley and Kitty had both fallen asleep in the back seat.

" It wasn't even really like that. I'm the one who decided to hike up the trail and people sort of followed me and looked to me for direction." Jake explains, digging into some of the processed food his Puck had kindly given to him. He hadn't had Doritos in forever.

"You gave them a reason to look to you. I think it's pretty cool." Finn compliments.

"In theory being the leader of a group is cool, in practice though..." Jake trails off, the body count of two nights ago haunting him.

"I get it, I don't know. I feel like losing Tina and Mercedes... it just sucks. You just keep thinking of ways on how you cold have stopped it from happening." Jake nods, he could have stopped it if they had more weapons.

"I guess that's why I decided to join you guys. I mean other than joining my brother. Those girls back their, they are my family just as much as he is. I need to protect them and not feel so responsible for people. You guys seem like you decide things as a group. You protect each other no matter what. I think we're safest with you guys." Finn nods, understanding.

"Puck is my best friend. Has been since we were kids. You're his brother, so that makes you mine too. You guys will be safe with us. We have your back." Finn lets him know.

Jake glances back at Kitty and Marley, both of whom are still fast asleep. And for once he doesn't seem too scared about the future and the responsibility on his shoulders. He no longer feels like an individual in charge of a group, but instead an individual that is part of a group.

* * *

"Kurt will you hand me a bottle of water!" Santana calls from the back of the RV.

Blaine, Aidan, Alison, and Kurt all sit at the small booth in the RV. Sam drives with Mike as his copilot. Santana and Brittany lay in the bed. Kurt sighs and rolls his eyes, it's better to just listen to Santana then to fight it.

"We really need to learn how to use some of these weapons." Blaine comments looking at a fraction of their deadly arsenal of weapons. It makes him nervous that he doesn't really know how to use them.

"Rachel and Puck seem pretty well rehearsed with their weapons. Maggie also knows a thing or two." Aidan comments, taking one of the smaller pistols in his hand. Making sure the safety is on.

"I know how to use some of them." Sam calls back from the drivers seat. Blaine and Aidan were unaware he was listening.

"I do too, actually." Mike tells them standing from his seat.

"Santana give Britt some room to breathe and get in front with Sam!" Mike calls back, he no longer fears the Latina. Not when there are deadlier things in the world.

"Screw you Chang!" Santana calls back, not even bothering to make an effort.

"I'll go." Alison volunteers quietly. It's better to have two sets of eyes on the road instead of one.

Santana is very comfortable with her girl curled up into her side, thank you very much. Brittany is practically on top of her, her head resting on Santana's chest. She is tired of laying on her back so instead, with Aidan's OK, Brittany lays on her stomach.

"Thank you Kurt!" Brittany smiles at the boy when he hands Santana the water. He returns a kind smile to Brittany but gives a sarcastic one to Santana then retreats back to the table.

"Hey Britt?" Santana asks her girlfriend suddenly.

"Yeah?"

"I have a question for you and it's kind of morbid." Santana prepares Britt for the question.

"San, there are hardly any people left in the world. It's a pretty morbid time." Brittany comments, tracing her fingers over Santana's shoulder.

"Well Kurt and I. We never really got close to any of the biters, so I have only really killed one before I got to the city. I guess I was just curious. Haw many walkers have you killed?" Brittany's fingers momentarily stop their tracing but they pick up again when she starts to speak.

"I didn't count them San, but there was a lot of them." Santana nods at this, suddenly wishing she had Rachel with her, she wants to know if Brittany was answering the questions correctly.

"Have you ever killed any people?" Santana asks quietly. Brittany seems to have anticipated this question.

"I think I have indirectly." Brittany confesses, though the answer confuses Santana.

"How?" Santana wants her to elaborate.

"There were people who needed our help, but we couldn't help them. Sam didn't trust them and I didn't think it was safe either. So we left them." This makes Santana feel better, as far as she can tell this Brittany is her same Brittany from before the outbreak.

"Why did you kill them?" Santana breathes the final question.

"I never like to, it was to protect myself. And Tina. And Sam. I don't like to do it, but I know when it has to be done." Santana presses a soft kiss to Brittany's temple.

"I'm glad you did Britt." If Rachel were in the vehicle she is sure she would think the answers to these questions are the right ones.

* * *

**Cleveland, Ohio**

Several long hours of driving, only making it to the city with the fumes of the gasoline. Seriously, Quinn wouldn't be surprised if they had only a drop of gas left in the tanks.

The CDC is on the western outskirts of the city. They don't have to travel too far in. So they don't see many of the undead. In fact it is eerily quiet when they pull into the front of the center. Tanks and sand bags and machine guns and any sort of Military equipment (along with it's dead personnel) scatter the outside of the heavily fortified building.

Everyone sports a weapon in their hands. A few even have a second pistol in their waist band. Except for Sam, who carries Brittany in his arms as they approach the building. Santana and Kurt on either side of the blonde man with weapons outstretched.

Joey shoots ahead of the group, making sure the coast is clear. Daryl follows closely behind the dog taking down two walkers with his crossbow.

Rachel is the first to go for the secure doors, knocking on them with all her might. Quinn not too far behind her, Blaine offering himself as her crutch.

"Hello!" Rachel hollers, it's getting dark and she really needs to get her people to safety.

"SHHHH!" The group shushes her, but she continues her banging.

"Anybody here?" Rachel calls out again, but their is no answer. Finn soon joins her.

"Someone shut them up!" Kitty hisses, noticing walkers headed their way.

"Dude, guys, shut up!" Puck shoves Finn, but it doesn't stop him. Everyone is starting to panic.

"We have to get out of here." Alison, who has mostly stayed quiet, speaks up in panic.

"Where? It's dark and I'm almost out of gas." Daryl mutters between taking down two more walkers.

"Who cares where we go. We have to get out." Aidan adds taking a step towards his sometimes intern.

"They're right. Britt can't protect herself, and neither can we if we're all watching out for her." Santana adds, eyeing her helpless girlfriend.

"I've got her Santana." Sam assures, but it doesn't make her feel any better.

An argument ensues between the members. Only bringing more attention to themselves.

"SHUT UP!" Quinn yells loudly, did the security camera just move in her direction?

"Shut up ok? We can't keep arguing." The camera stays locked on her.

"Q's right." Puck agrees, suddenly the camera moves to him. Rachel and Finn have also caught on to the movement.

"We have to get out of here." Sam suddenly agrees, he won't be able to protect Brittany if he is only holding her. Suddenly Joey begins to bark uncontrollably. A herd of about 30 is headed their way.

"Joey!" Quinn hisses at the barking dog, he is only bringing the walkers towards them. Joey growls one last time before joining Quinn.

"HEY! I KNOW YOU'RE IN THERE!" Finn yells, thrashing at the metal doors.

"PLEASE! WE NEED HELP!" Rachel pleads, also hitting the door.

"What are they going on about?" Marley asks, concerned, her eyes scanning the streets.

"The camera is moving. Someone is controlling it." Quinn points, but the others don't seem so convinced.

"Guys lets's go back to the car." Mike adds, gently guiding Sam in that direction.

"WAIT!" Puck hollers, but Alison and Aidan are already following Mike.

"OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" Rachel yells, startling everyone in the vicinity. Rachel Berry does not swear.

There is a moment of silence between the group, all that can be heard is the groaning of the walkers. It's almost as if time stops.

Then there is a dull click, and the metal doors recede into the ceiling. A bright light cascading onto the genuinely surprised faces of the group.

No one moves for a moment, not until a figure breaks through the bright light.

"Either you get in now. Or I leave you out here to die."

* * *

**Fire and Rain was the song Rachel sang. I am very aware that it was sung in ****_The Quarterback_**** but I also felt it was the best choice for this chapter.**

**I had to give you guys an update on the day of the dead. It just seemed fitting.**

**Hope you all enjoyed it!**

**Let me know what you think -A**


	14. Blood Samples

They sit in a room in silence. It seems like, when it comes to volume, they reach each side of the sound spectrum. Deafening silence or complete and utter chaos. Quinn wonders what this room is used for, it looks similar to a lecture hall. It even feels that way as the group sits in front of the person who saved them. Or rather, people.

Quinn isn't at all surprised to see one Sue Sylvester as one of these people. Of course she is still alive. Another one looks like some type of scientist, robe and all. And the third, an attractive man, about as young as the rest of the group, maybe a bit older, looking serious and holding a gun.

"It really shouldn't surprise me that you three are alive." Sue points over to her cheerios, she eyes Rachel and Quinn momentarily then sort of scoffs, like she knew that relationship was bound to happen.

"And you know what, porcelain, I knew you'd make it this far." Kurt tilts his head and sort of smiles, surprised by the compliment.

"It's the rest of you journey loving, show tune singing, group of failures that surprises me." Puck rolls his eyes from the second row of theatre type seats and kicks his feet up, already falling asleep.

"I don't even know you." Sue points out as she passes Daryl. Daryl is about as amused as Puck.

"I guess you aren't failures after all." Sue muses, and before she goes on some tangent about what choreography they might have used to escape the walkers, the attractive man cuts in.

Quinn watches this man carefully, seeing as he is the only one holding a weapon. He carries it casually, but it's clear that he knows how to use it. This makes her nervous. He actually looks like a soldier. Rigid posture, rippling muscles, and to top it all off, a bandana tied across his head.

"Sue." The man cuts in curtly. Sue rolls her eyes at the man but shuts up.

"Seriously, it takes G I Joe to shut you up?" Santana asks, surprised. Brittany is curled into her side, exhausted from the day. She is very much falling asleep just like Puck is.

"I see you all know Sue." The man continues, ignoring Santana's comment. "This man over here is Mitchell Decker he is the only surviving scientist and I'm Brody Weston. And If we're going to let you stay here you're going to all need to obey certain rules." Quinn elbows Santana before she can jeopardize their new safe haven.

"Whatever you need." Quinn readily agrees, earning an elbow from Rachel. Quinn almost blushes for hastily agreeing, thankful for her girlfriends quick thinking.

"Within reason." Rachel adds. Quinn rubs at her still tender side causing Rachel to shoot her an apologetic look. Quinn simply takes Rachel's hand in hers and shakes her head, letting her know she is fine, before kissing her hand.

"You must all agree to a blood test. The dog too." The scientist steps in, demanding his presence as soon as he speaks. This was a man in charge, Quinn could tell. Joey looks a bit nervous, he wasn't able to check the room and give his two barks.

"And leave all your weapons at the entrance." Brody adds, suddenly Puck is no longer tired. He stands in rage. He isn't the only one, this changes things for Quinn. How can she agree to stay if she doesn't feel safe?

"We're not agreeing to that. We can easily take this place over." Puck says raising his gun. Brody is quick to reciprocate. Soon everyone is standing and holding out their guns. It is Dr. Decker that speaks up over the loud voices.

"I highly doubt you want to take over this place. You wouldn't know the first thing about keeping the power on." Puck hesitates for a moment. It is the first place he has seen with electricity. "And this is the CDC so you know I'm working on something." It's the Ace of arguments. They all wanted to know of he was working on a cure and if it's true, there is no way they can do anything to this man.

"No need for you to get your panties in a twist." Sue spits at Puck. "We aren't asking for your weapons. We have our own. We just need yours in the main lobby."

"Why?" Jake is the one who asks.

"We like to pretend the world hasn't gone to complete shit. Walking around with guns kind of ruins that. This place is completely safe. No one is getting in unless we let them." Brody answers. Quinn isn't sure how she feels about leaving her gun. Not that she is very well rehearsed with it, but she likes knowing she can protect herself, or Rachel, if need be. She had easily agreed, but now she was glad Rachel stepped in. There is no way her girlfriend would agree to this.

"And we let you in. These are our rules. Either you abide them, or we let you out the way you came in." Dr. Decker lets them know. The way Sue side eyes the man tells Quinn Sue isn't so ready to let the New Directions out of her sight.

"It isn't unreasonable." Finn is the first one to say. He looks down at his weapon skeptically then nods.

"I agree to your terms." Everyone stares. Wondering if he is making a wise decision.

"Do you trust her?" Santana leans over to whisper to Quinn. They both look up at Sue. She may have been crazy, but one thing is fore sure, the conditioning that crazy coach put them through has kept them alive this far. Also, Sue Sylvester may not to do things the conventional way, but she always looked out for her own.

"I think so." Quinn whispers back.

"I agree too." Alison chimes in, she just looks relieved to be out of the chaos.

"I'm in." Aidan adds. Finn looks over at his friends, begging them to agree.

"I agree to the blood test and the guns, but I want my knife with me." Rachel chimes in. Quinn whips her head to look at the brunette. Everyone stares at her in shock.

"What are you doing?" She asks Rachel in a whisper. Rachel easily removes the magazine of her gun and unloads the bullet from the chamber. She holds it out without a second glance. Instead she stares at Quinn.

"This place is safe. I want you safe." Is all Rachel offers. Puck is too busy cursing Rachel out to hear her explanation.

"I think we can agree to that." Brody nods, looking over at his group for allowance. They all nod.

"Fuck. Dammit Rachel." Puck mimics Rachel's earlier movements and holds out his gun as well.

"I'm in." Maggie joins after a moment of hesitation. Quinn pockets the information of her only agreeing when Puck did into the back of her mind.

"How about you hold onto those until I show you where we'll store them? Will you feel more comfortable then?" Brody asks Puck. Puck sarcastically mutters something about the man being accommodating, but nods his head with a grunt regardless.

"If the little one is in, I'm in." Daryl nods over at Rachel. Quinn gets this feeling that he views her as the leader of the group. Which makes sense Rachel is sort of the glue of it all.

"We're in." Blaine states, speaking for him and Kurt.

"So are we." Marley speaks up for herself, her boyfriend, and her best friend.

Sam looks at Santana and Brittany expectantly. He will not give his ok unless they are in. Santana sighs, looking at Rachel for confirmation and then at Sue.

"We're in." Brittany beats Santana to it. She may be weak and tired, but she still makes the decisions for the both of them.

"In that case, so am I." Sam adds.

"Me too." Mike jumps in.

Quinn hasn't agreed and all eyes are on her. There is just something about this place that gives her the creeps. Actually not exactly the creeps, but it's not good. She doesn't claim to be clairvoyant, but there is something.

"Quinn." Rachel breathes, her voice pleading and vulnerable. Very unlike how she has been lately. If Rachel needs this then Quinn supposes she does too.

"Alright then."

* * *

The blood tests are taken by Dr. Decker in the same room. Brody brings the supplies over for him and he returns without the gun, letting his trust show.

"What happened there?" Decker asks Brittany pointing at her side, the blood has bled through her dressing and her shirt. It needs to be changed. Santana and Sam hover right behind her protectively. Both are sporting bandages to where the needle drew their blood. Brittany is the last person to receive the blood test, Joey will be next.

"She wasn't bit." Sam defends harshly.

"Didn't say she was." Decker smiles, almost amused by the protective nature. "All done. You should get those bandages changed. We have some medication and medical supplies here, but I have no clue how to use it." The man places a gentle hand on Brittany, freeing the needle from her skin.

"Will he stay still?" Decker asks, not at all afraid of Joey. In fact Joey has calmed down considerably now that he was able to check the premises.

"As long as I tell him to." Quinn nods, placing a calming hand on the dogs back. Joey looks like any dog would at a visit to the vets. Completely terrified. Blaine also comes over to try and soothe the dog.

"It's alright, Joe." Blaine coos softly. It's Rachel that manages to get the dog to calm down. She sits in front of him, face to face. And talks to him as if he is a human.

"Hey Joey. You've been such a good boy lately. I owe you so much for keeping Quinn alive for me. And Blaine too. You are really man's best friend. When I say man I am not simply talking about Males, but as human beings as a whole." Joey gazes at Rachel confused as to why she is talking so fast and what she is going o about. He may be a smart dog, but this is too much.

"Rach, I think he gets it." Quinn chuckles. Decker is already removing the needle.

"Good boy." Quinn coos, kissing the top of the dogs head. Joey wags his tail excitedly now that Decker has gotten up and moved. Brody is finishing labeling the vials. Sue and Decker begin to discuss the blood samples.

"I'll give you guys the tour." Brody tells them, leading them down a hallway. Sue and Decker stay behind still discussing the vials, but the rest follow Brody to an elevator.

"Hope none of you are claustrophobic." He tells them pressing a button on the elevator. It's a bit crowded in the small descending box, but it is also a spacious elevator. It is used to a big staff traveling up and down from it.

"How far underground are we?" Kitty asks.

"I don't think you want to know." Brody laughs. "I wish I didn't. But it makes us safer so..." He shrugs as the door opens. Joey is the first to shoot out. Clearing rooms with his bark.

"We can set your weapons down here." Brody tells them pointing to this huge desk that kind of looks like a receptionists desk from a hotel. They had left all of their MRE's and spare weapons on the vehicles outside. No one but the undead is out their and Quinn doubts they'll make use of them.

The group begins to lay out their guns. Daryl adding his cross bow to the collection. It's Kitty who begins to pull out guns from places she was hiding them that surprises the group. 4 guns and 2 grenades later she shrugs.

"I like to be prepared."

"Ok so, down here are all the dormitories. Some have bunks, others look like hotel rooms. First come first serve, though I suggest... Brittany is it?" Brittany nods from Sam's arms "I think you should take the room all the way to the back, their is a medical station back their. The rec room is down this hallway and on the hallway to the left. We have some games and books, but don't use anything that requires electricity. We're trying to cut back on that." They continue to walk down the rooms. Everyone accommodating couples and singles. Kitty bunks with Alison and Maggie, though Marley didn't like it.

"I draw the line of being third wheel at sex. Sorry Marley." Kitty jokes.

"The rooms have showers but hot water is limited so try and take short ones."

"Did he say hot water?" Kurt breathes in awe. Blaine smiles and takes his boyfriends hand. Leading him into a room just for them.

"And the main lights are out at 9:30, but all rooms have light switches so, don't think you'll get stuck in the dark. Just make sure to turn off lights whenever you exit a room."

Mike and Sam bunk in a room all the way at the end of the hallway. Quinn suspects it has something to do with keeping an eye on Britt.

Finn and Puck take another room. While Aidan and Daryl occupy another. Rachel and Quinn take the room furthest away from everyone. A bit on the secluded side, but they don't mind it.

"Hey Quinn, let me take Joey, that dog needs to get cleaned." Puck whistles for Joey. Quinn also suspects he wants to give her some alone time with Rachel. Finn pokes out his head as well, calling for the dog. He doesn't leave her side until she nods. Everyone has already disappeared into their rooms. Brody stands at the head of the hallway looking pleased with himself.

"It's been a while since I have seen so many people." He explains to Quinn and Rachel, the only ones left outside.

"Thank you Brody." Rachel tells him honestly. He waves it off.

"Go take a shower before the hot water is gone." He tells them, and Quinn does not have to be told twice. She pulls Rachel into the bedroom and closes the door, clicking the lock in place.

* * *

Blaine had Kurt pressed against the bathroom wall. The hot steam rose from the shower, enveloping them in a fog.

"Let's not waste the water." Kurt laughs against Blaine's lips. Instead Blaine let his lips travel to Kurt's neck.

"I wouldn't call this a waste." Blaine mumbles against him.

"Are you ok?" Kurt asks, an edge of seriousness in his voice. When Blaine doesn't answer he pulls him away to study his face.

"I'm fine." Blaine smiles, pecking him on the lips. "I'm just-We found each other. We found our friends. And we're safe. I never thought that would happen." Kurt nods, understanding.

"I know what you mean. I never thought I would ever feel safe again." Kurt tugs at Blaine's shirt, asking permission to lift it over his head. Blaine nods with an eager smile.

"I missed hot water." Blaine says, opening the shower door to indeed test the temperature.

"I missed sharing a hot shower with you." Kurt adds, taking off his own shirt.

* * *

Rachel had always loved hot showers before the outbreak. They were her favorite part of her morning routine. The steam that rose always cleared her throat for the day.

Now she loves them for a completely different reason. With the steady stream of practically scalding water cascading onto her back, and Quinn's warm body pressed against her front, she could argue that this is the best place in the world.

Quinn's fingers flutter against Rachel's face, as if she is trying to memorize it by mere touch alone. She traces her eyebrows, the bridge of her nose, her chin, and marvels over the way Rachel's lips part at her touch.

As if Rachel can no longer control herself, she pulls Quinn closer and brings their lips together in a passionate kiss. So much heat resonates from this kiss it can rival the hot water of the shower.

Rachel has already memorized Quinn's face. All that time in the hospital when she was in a coma was the cause of that. Not to mention all the time she spent watching Quinn Fabray in high school. She knew her face very well, so instead she let her hands roam around her body. Quinn could feel the insecurities overwhelm her, but the calm and patient kiss from Rachel quelled her fears.

"I love you." Rachel tells Quinn honestly. It wasn't her first time saying or insinuating that she was in love with the blonde, but it was the first time she uttered those three words in that sentence. Quinn's eyes widen a bit, not exactly in surprise, because of course she knew Rachel loves her.

"I love you too." Quinn tells her before taking her lips between her own. Tongues meeting. Hands caressing. Breaths lost. A true moment of absolute and pure love.

* * *

Santana was aware it was nowhere near the sexiest shower she and Brittany had ever shared, but she so appreciated the fact that Brittany tried.

And though Brittany was sad that her physical state hindered her ability to physically express her love for her girlfriend it was the careful and tender touch from Santana that made it all better.

Brittany had never been so well taken care of. Santana helped her into the shower, held her in her arms. She was careful with Brittany, so careful it almost ached.

Now Brittany was seated in the bed, between Santana's legs as the Latina carefully towel dried her hair. Brittany tilted her head to the side, a sign that they both knew meant she needed a kiss at the hollow of her throat. Santana leaned in carefully, placing the gentlest of kisses.

They both knew that wasn't what she was asking for. Brittany huffed, a bit frustrated. So Santana lingered a bit longer on the second kiss.

"I'm not made of glass." Brittany complains in a whine. Santana laughs slightly, her patience is wearing thin.

"But you are hurt." Santana counters. Brittany lays her head back on Santana shoulder and turns her head to her girlfriends neck, doing something with her mouth that reminds Santana just how frustrated she is.

"Baby." Santana complains, but makes no move to change positions.

"Please." Brittany murmurs. It's the slightly desperate breathy tone that the blonde used that drove Santana to let Brittany have her way with her. Not that Santana would ever complain. And like always Brittany got her way.

* * *

"I know plastic man told you to conserve the hot water, but you all didn't have to share a shower." Sue tells them. Blaine, Kurt, Santana, Brittany, Rachel, Quinn, Sam, Jake, Marley, Puck, Daryl, and Kitty were the first ones out of their rooms to take a tour around the rest of the facility.

"Ugh." Puck shudders then looks around at the couples. "She pictured you guys in the shower." Santana literally gagged as soon as the words left Puck's mouth.

"No I didn't." Sue argues but then makes a disgusted face. "Now I am, dammit Puckerman." She shakes her head as if ridding herself of the thought.

"Damn Puck, now that's all I am picturing." Kitty states annoyed, her nose crinkled in disgust.

"Yall just got to stop talking." Daryl adds before he too gets the mental images. "I mean I'm glad yall are getting lucky, but there are a few of us here who aren't so... respect. Please." Puck claps him on the back sympathetically.

"Seriously." The man adds.

"So the kitchen is fully stocked. We still have some of the fresh stuff, but-" Daryl and Puck are the first ones to speed off in the direction Sue pointed towards.

"Can any of us actually cook?" Kitty asks. Sam and Kurt speak up.

"One of those doesn't surprise me." Kitty teases.

"So we'll go ahead and have a feast tonight. You know to celebrate the fact that you aren't complete idiots." Sue tells them, showing them the dining hall, Santana rolls Brittany over to a table. Brody had brought a wheelchair for them as soon as they appeared from their rooms.

"But, after that we'll have to ration. We'll also break into the wine." Everyone seems to brighten at this note.

A feast and alcohol. Electricity. Hot water. Plumbing. Warm beds. All with the people they loved. And most importantly: Security.

What Zombie Apocalypse?

* * *

**And for those who asked if I am hispanic in any way (Dia de los muertos). Both of my parents were born in Mexico. I, however, was born in the US and grew up visiting Mexico and speaking spanish. **

**Let me know what you think. (Seriously, reviews keep me going.)**

**Hope you all enjoyed this one. -A**


	15. Anomaly

"Hey little one hit me up with some more of that wine." Daryl asks from across Rachel. Rachel passes it over with a slightly drunk smile. The tables have been gathered together to create one huge table.

Everyone is feasting on the vast amounts of food. Most of it is powdered, like the eggs. But as Sue promised, there is fresh fruit. And it is the most popular item of the table. Well, almost.

"How on earth do you have bacon?" Quinn asks, serving herself another helping. It is the only protein on the table that comes in form of meat.

"We have a whole bunch of it frozen. Had I should say, we don't have much left." Brody explains, pointing to the industrial freezer. Quinn frowns at her plate, maybe she has taken too much? She looks around to make sure everyone has at least had one serving, not wanting to be selfish.

"Have mine." Rachel tells her with a lazy smile, sliding the meat off of her plate and onto her girlfriends. Quinn is about to object but Rachel beats her to it. "I may not be vegan anymore, but I still can't stomach some of it. Besides I'm fine with fruit and wine."

"Blondie if you don't want it, I'll have it." Daryl smiles. Quinn isn't sure what it is about this man that she likes. He's rough around the edges, but she can tell he has a genuine heart.

"I like you Daryl, but not that much." Quinn teases, Daryl shrugs.

"Can't blame me for trying." Daryl laughs, serving himself even more wine. Even though he had just refilled his cup.

It's Finn who notices the odd behavior of the scientist. He sits at the head of the table, simply observing the group. He hardly touches his food and stays away from the alcohol all together. Even Brody and Sue are enjoying themselves. But the scientist seems reserved.

"Dr. Decker, you feeling alright?" Finn asks cautiously. The man smiles slightly and nods, but offers no words.

"Quinn, you look so pretty." Rachel slurs, standing from her seat to sit on Quinn's lap. Quinn takes a secure hold on her girlfriends waist. Rachel wraps her arms around Quinn's neck and pulls her in for a kiss. Everyone at the table makes a racket, either groaning or cat calling. Quinn pulls away to see Daryl taking a strip of bacon off of her plate.

"Hey!" Quinn complains, pointing at the tough man. He looks her right in the eye and pops it into his mouth.

"Dude, you're so dead." Puck stage whispers.

"Hey she's the one who took her eyes off of her plate." Daryl laughs. Quinn is about to argue when Rachel pulls her in for another kiss.

"Ok what is it with brunettes not holding their liquor?" Kitty asks, Marley too has seemed to have over done it with the alcohol. She is giggling like mad and clinging to her best friend trying to whisper secrets to her, but the whole table can hear.

"I resent that." Santana slurs a bit, before taking a large gulp from her cup full of wine. "Alison isn't even brunette and she looks like she is about to tear off someones clothes, but she can't decide between Brody, Sam, Mike, Kitty, or Aidan." Alison doesn't even bother to look embarrassed.

"It's been a long time guys..." Is all the girl offers.

"I'm going to take you to the room before you jump someone." Maggie laughs, also a bit drunk. Alison nearly falls to the ground,and Maggie isn't very steady either, so Puck stands and takes her into his arms.

" You women can't handle your alcohol." Puck mutters leaving the room. Maggie follows,looking at Puck with untrusting eyes.

"Don't drink too much San." Brittany warns, the only person other than Decker who remains sober, but that is because of the meds she is one.

"I think we should raise our paper cups to Coach Sylvester, Brody, and Dr. Decker, for allowing us to stay in their home...or whatever." Blaine raises his cup unsteadily, Kurt has to maneuver away from the splash of wine that spills out.

"Cheers to that." Aidan follows. Soon everyone has their cups in the air. Except for Rachel who still has her arms wrapped around Quinn's neck. Though it has more to do with keeping upright.

"Why are you not drunk?" Rachel asks her girlfriend, it seems she can't keep her hands off the blonde. Normally Quinn wouldn't allow such public displays of affection, but most people seemed caught up in their own thing to notice the couple. It also may have something to do with the alcohol in her system.

"I think what you're trying to ask is why am I not as drunk as you, because I sure as hell am not sober." Quinn giggles, hiding her face in her girlfriends neck, pressing a soft kiss to the flushed skin. Rachel hums, enjoying the feel of Quinn's lips.

"Could you two, like not mount each other at the table?" Sam teases the couple, tossing a grape at them, but the girls pay no mind. In fact, Quinn goes as far as flipping the man off without even pulling away from Rachel.

"It's kind of sweet." Blaine tries to shrug it off, but the girls are getting a bit heated. He hands Joey, who has been glued to his side all night, some more food off of the table.

"I didn't realize they were into exhibitionism." Kurt comments, grimacing slightly when Rachel makes a noise that is completely inappropriate for the dinner table.

"OK you two." Finn stands, trying to separate the girls. He literally has to pull their faces a part. Rachel grins drunkenly at him. Finn knows that both girls would regret this in the morning so he decides to save them from further embarrassment and lead them to their room.

"You're such a good friend, Finn." Quinn compliments him as he leads the intoxicated girls down a series of hallways to reach the dormitories. "I can't believe I ever thought you were a douche." Finn furrows his brow at the girl.

"I know right?" Rachel adds, her arms still around Quinn. Both girls giggle.

"You guys thought I was a- you now what? Never mind." He opens the door to their room and leads them over to the bed, he gently lays Rachel down first, seeing as she is the most unstable of the two.

"Ok i'm leaving a trash can by Rachel just in case. I'll see you two in the-" He doesn't finish his sentence though because Quinn rolls over and straddles Rachel's waist, forgetting Finn's presence all together.

"Ok then, I'm out." Finn scurries out quickly, not wanting to be _that_ creep. He turns the corner to see Maggie and Puck having a serious conversation. He stops in his tracks not wanting to interrupt.

"So how was it?" Puck asks the woman, looking smug. It's then that Finn realizes Puck is zipping up his pants and fastening his belt.

"Fine, I guess." Maggie tells him with a shrug, not bothering to sensor herself. Puck looks at her, horrified by her response.

"Fine?" He echoes offended. Maggie looks at him like he's crazy and shrugs again.

"Yeah, fine. See you around." She slaps Puck on the chest and walks off, almost running right into Finn.

"Oh hey Finn." Finn stands there awkwardly unsure of what to do. He is surprised at how unfazed Maggie by the fact that she had essentially been caught doing the walk of shame.

"Hi." Finn waves stiffly.

"It was the alcohol." Puck calls for Maggie, trying to excuse his lack of spectacular performance, but Maggie is already gone.

"It was the alcohol dude." Puck tells Finn, hoping his friend will listen.

"I'm sure it was buddy." Finn chuckles, clapping Puck on the back.

Puck and Finn are making their way back to the dining area when they literally bump into Mike. Or rather, Mike stumbles into them holding a bottle of wine just for himself. He doesn't look like he's in too good of shape.

"Hey dude, you ok?" Puck asks Mike, Mike ignores them and tries to pass them by. He's definitely on the verge of an emotional breakdown and he shouldn't be alone for that. Mike has always been good at keeping everything bottled up. Even in high school. But now it isn't about getting rejected by his crush, or failing to block during a football game, or an A- on a test. Now it is trying to stay alive, losing the love of his life, and watching people die before his eyes.

"I'm fine, just want to be alone." Mike grumbles, shoving them off.

"How about I take you to your room?" Finn offers his friend kindly, placing a hand on his shoulder. Mike roughly pulls away, and when Finn tries again Mike goes as far as shoving Finn into the wall.

Finn has also enjoyed the perks of the alcohol so he isn't as steady on his feet as he would like to be. He loudly crashes into the wall, hitting his head in the process.

"I said I want to be alone!" Mike bellows, leaving the two men in stunned silence. Quinn appears in the hallway wearing only a bed sheet and looking extremely flustered. Her cheeks are flushed, her hair is mussed up, she was definitely in the middle of something.

"What's going on?" Quinn asks, still slightly intoxicated. Finn looks in the direction Mike disappeared to, wondering if he should follow but instead he answers his practically naked friend.

"Just had a little disagreement with Mike, it's alright Quinn go back to-" Finn's jaw drops when Rachel appears behind Quinn in only her bra and underwear.

"Quinn!" Rachel calls out unsteadily, she definitely has had too much to drink.

"Rachel!" Quinn hisses, trying to share the bed sheet with her girlfriend. Doing her best to cover her up from the men in front of them.

"Nothing we haven't seen before." Puck waves off, not bothered by Rachel's lack of clothing. Though this may be true, both men try and avoid their eyes from Rachel.

Upon hearing Puck, Quinn turns to face him, anger in her eyes. She goes to lunge for him, but is distracted by Rachel's hands snaking around her waist

"You two are lucky that I was in the middle of getting lucky." Quinn growls, completely unlike herself by revealing this much intimate information. Puck bites back laughter, deciding to let the girls have their fun.

Rachel impatiently pulls Quinn back from where they came from. The girls retreat to the room, leaving the boys to chuckle and shake their heads.

* * *

Quinn has really never felt so satisfied in her life. Rachel is sprawled across the bed, naked. It was the fact that she was naked that Quinn didn't mind that her girlfriend is taking up most of the bed.

Quinn felt like a creep just staring at her girlfriend as she slept, and something wasn't sitting with her right about this place. Perhaps that is why she found herself still awake. Even though she had been drunk a mere four hours before, her _activities_ had burned off the alcohol. Now she wants some more. The weight of losing so many friends is really effecting her.

That is how she finds herself slightly intoxicated, stumbling around what looks like a lab. Dr. Decker is busy, examining something under a microscope. This man doesn't seem to get any sleep.

"Hello Quinn." A disembodied female voice calls out. Quinn glances down at the bottle of liquor in her hand, wondering if maybe she has had a tad too much to drink.

"You aren't crazy." Decker laughs, tearing his eyes away from the microscope. "AIDA introduce yourself."

"Hello Quinn Fabray, I am AIDA. Artificially Intelligent Doctors Aide. I oversee the happenings of the laboratory and all of the Center of Disease Control." Quinn looks around, still trying to find the source of the voice.

"Oh! Like Jarvis!" Quinn announces, earning a laugh from Decker. "What are you doing here Doc?" Quinn asks, taking a long gulp from the wine.

"I'm going over all of the blood samples." He explains, pointing over to the blood vials in front of the microscope. Each of them had a name carefully written on the side. It seems Decker is now examining Rachel's blood.

"We're not infected are we?" Quinn jokes, laughing so hard that she stumbles backwards into a desk and slides down to the ground into a giggling heap.

"We all are." Decker tells her seriously, only causing Quinn to laugh louder. When he doesn't even crack a smile though, Quinn sobers up.

"You're kidding me right?" She asks, not sure if Decker simply has a twisted sense if humor.

"I'm afraid not." Decker tells her. "We all have the Cad virus. As soon as any of our hearts stop beating, the virus takes it's effect." Quinn isn't really sure what any of the information means, first of all she had no idea the virus even had a name. Second of all, everybody would turn. Not just those who got bit, but anybody that dies will turn.

"All of us?" Quinn croaks out, her only thought goes to the girl she left in bed. Before Quinn can voice anymore questions a voice cuts in.

"Correction:" AIDA interrupts the two suddenly, both Quinn and Deckers eyes widen. "The results of Quinn Fabray's test are in. An anomaly in her blood suggests that she possesses an immunity to the Cadaver Virus."

* * *

**So I have had a pretty shitty week and then I come on here and see all the reviews I have gotten. It truly means a lot to me. Thank you all so much.**

**I hope you all enjoy this calm before the storm.**

**Let me know what you think -A**


	16. Countdown

Quinn wakes up to a loud ringing in her ears. Her stomach churns with the alcohol of the previous night. She can feel the weight of Rachel's arm strewn across her back. She rolls over, landing on all fours on the ground.

"Baby?" Rachel calls out groggily from the bed. Quinn isn't even able to appreciate the term of endearment because she has to pull herself to her feet and stumble over to the bathroom.

Quinn retches into the toilet a couple of times before she feels a soothing hand run circles over her back. Rachel reaches to Quinn's neck and pulls the blonde hair out of the way.

Quinn finishes throwing up, taking Rachel's offering hand gratefully, pulling herself to her feet so she can rinse her mouth.

"You ok?" Rachel asks as Quinn swishes water into her mouth. Quinn concentrates at the task at hand, only managing to nod. She's always hated hangovers. She takes a seat on the toilet, holding her head in her hands.

"Where'd you go last night?" Rachel asks softly. Quinn looks up and locks eyes with Rachel.

_An anomaly in her blood suggests that she possesses an immunity to the Cadaver virus._

"Needed some air." Quinn tells her, she isn't sure why she is lying, but she does know that telling anyone about what she learned last night will only make things worse.

"You got drunk." Rachel deadpans. Quinn shrugs, not even bothering to argue. Instead she leans towards Rachel, allowing the girl to wrap her arms around her. Quinn sighs, relishing the feeling of the warm arms around her.

Quinn's mind keeps wandering back to the lab. What good did an immunity do for her if she is the only one who is immune? What about Rachel? and Blaine? And everyone else? Decker had started pouring over the blood sample. Quinn had walked out of the lab after that, wandering the halls of the CDC with a bottle of wine in her hand.

"What's going through your head?" Rachel asks softly, holding Quinn's head to her chest. Quinn absently places a kiss to her chest and pulls away to look into the brown eyes she loves.

"You called me baby." Quinn smiles, changing the subject. "Are we really going to be that couple?" Rachel laughs.

"I figure if Santana can say it, then so can we." Quinn smiles and leans in to place a kiss to Rachel's lips. Rachel pulls away, grimacing.

"I'm not kissing you until you brush your teeth." Quinn pouts, but agrees to regardless, she did just throw up after all.

* * *

Santana wakes up in a similar manner, only she doesn't feel the need to vomit. Instead, her head pounds. She groans, burrying her head further into her pillow.

"I told you that last cup was a bad idea." Brittany laughs lightly, pulling the pillow away from Santana's face. Brittany manages to sit up on her own, leaning against the headboard. Even though she is in pain, Santana smiles up at Brittany.

"Morning beautiful." Brittany smiles, weaving her fingers through the brunettes hair. Santana hums with content.

"That feels good." Santana wiggles closer to Brittany, laying her head on her lap. She kisses Brittany's thigh and looks up.

"How are you feeling?" Santana asks her girlfriend, eyeing her side. She managed to pull herself into a sitting position all on her own, so she must be feeling better.

"I should be asking you that. You look like hell." Brittany comments, her fingers fluttering lightly over Santana's features.

"You just called me beautiful." Santana frowns at the blonde. Brittany laughs, smoothing away the frown with her fingers.

"You look like hell, but I always think you're beautiful." Brittany tells her, then she looks so conflicted she bites her lip.

"What's wrong?" Santana asks.

"I just want to kiss you really bad, but I can't bend over to do it because it hurts too much." Brittany frowns, causing Santana to laugh this time.

"I can fix that." Santana adjust herself so she can sit up and press a lingering kiss to her girlfriends lips.

* * *

"Since when is Q a science nerd?" Puck asks after dinner. Quinn had skipped all of the meals hiding out with Dr. Decker in his lab. Rachel had thought it was cute at first but once she refused to eat dinner, she no longer found it endearing.

"Doc usually doesn't let anyone in the lab. He always kicks Sue and I out." Brody states in awe, watching Decker and Quinn go over some vials.

"She needs to eat something." Rachel complains, holding a sandwich in her hand that she is trying to deliver to Quinn.

Daryl, none too subtle, knocks loudly on the glass, garnering the attention of the pair in the lab.

"Ey Barbie! Your girl is freaking out! Come grab some grub." Quinn looks torn for a second, like she is actually debating staying in the lab over spending time with Rachel. That is when Blaine knows something is up.

Most of the new Directions are standing outside of the lab observing what is going on inside. Though Finn and Alison had disappeared quite some time ago, saying they were going to go over some techniques for first aid. Puck had made a comment about playing doctor, everyone had rolled their eyes at the time, but it seems that Puck may be right.

"Is anyone else getting a weird feeling about this?" Santana comments, eyeing Dr. Decker warily. Sue passes by the hallway just in time to hear this comment.

"We don't want to hear about your tingly sensations sand bags." Sue says in passing, and continues on down the hallway like she said nothing.

"What does she even do around here?" Kurt asks, directing the question at Brody.

"I don't know..." Even Brody has no idea what Coach Sylvester does.

"I'm with sand bags, something fishy is going on around here." Kitty agrees with Santana. The Latina glares at Kitty, but only succeeds in earning a shrug from the blonde. "It's catchy." Kitty defends the nick name.

Just then Quinn pokes her head out of the lab and looks at Rachel, this look Santana knows very well. Though she is grinning at Rachel, looking all full of love, there is something Quinn is hiding. She just doesn't know what.

"Hey Rach, you need me?" Quinn smiles. Rachel steps closer holding up the plate.

"You need to eat something. You've been in there all day." Rachel tells her, sounding annoyed. Quinn either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore the annoyed tone.

"Have I?" Quinn asks, looking down at the plate, her stomach suddenly growls. "Is that for me?" Quinn points at the plate. Rachel wants to tell her to make her own sandwich.

She doesn't want to be this needy girl that she is coming off as, but she figured now that they were safe Quinn would be spending more time with her.

"Yes." Rachel sighs, holding the plate out for Quinn. Quinn grins and pecks Rachel on the lips.

"Thanks babe." Quinn takes the sandwich and walks back into the lab, closing the door behind her.

"Somethings not right here." Blaine speaks out, at this point he feels he knows Quinn rather well and nothing should be keeping her away from Rachel.

"I'm sure they're just running tests on blood samples." Brody tries to reassure them.

"Yeah G.I. Joe, I'm sure Dr. Frankenstein is running tests, the question is: why is Quinn in there?" Santana asks rhetorically. Rachel huffs and turns on her heel.

"C'mon Joey, let's go." Rachel calls for the dog, he loyally follows the short brunette.

"Looks like Quinn is in the dog house tonight." Kurt comments watching Rachel and Joey disappear around a corner.

"Who's up for a round of pool?" Jake asks, though he too isn't liking the secrets that seem to be transpiring between the group, he'd rather not cause a fuss just yet. People need to wind down and take their minds off of things. Maybe a game of pool will help.

* * *

"It's ready." Sam lets Santana know as soon as they enter the rec room with everyone else. He and Marley had disappeared to help set up Santana's surprise for Brittany.

"Thanks guys." Santana is honestly grateful, she looks at them sincerely before allowing them to go and join the rest of the group.

"Where are we going?" Brittany asks when Santana pushes the wheelchair out of the recreational room and into a hallway.

Santana had been doing a lot of thinking lately. And if she was being honest, she had had this planned for years now. But when the infection hit everything changed. And plans were ruined, because the future turned into a hopeless dream. A dream that not many people achieved. You were lucky to survive another day, no one dared made plans for the future.

The only certainty during this period, is that everything is uncertain. You don't know what tomorrow stores for you. Seize the day never had such a powerful meaning to Santana as it did now. That is why, when she stumbled into the greenhouse (of sorts) Santana knew what she was going to do.

"I want to show you something I found last night."

Santana wasn't nervous, not one bit. In fact, she was giddy with excitement. Not that Santana Lopez would ever admit that she was giddy.

"When you say found it, do you mean you and Sam got lost after putting me in bed?" Santana grins, because that is exactly how it happened. Santana and Sam showed Brittany to their room while they went and got plastered.

"Maybe." Santana laughs, turning the last corner. She opens the door without any words, she just lets Brittany take in the sight.

It's a little bit disorienting at first, knowing that it's 7 o'clock in the evening and to walk into a room where it looks like it's noon. The artificial light gleams brightly onto the vegetation.

Inside this room, if it can be considered that, are various types of plants. All sorts of trees, and bushes. Think of a vegetable or a fruit, and it is growing inside that greenhouse. And it is beautiful.

If Santana didn't know any better she would have thought she stumbled outside, because it even smells like fresh air in this room.

"Wow." Brittany breathes, looking all around the room. Santana rolls her through the path between the grass, stopping her right next to a small bubbling fountain. "This place is beautiful, San."

Santana walks around the chair so she can stand before her girlfriend.

"Can you stand?" Santana asks carefully. She takes Brittany's hands, when she nods, and pulls her to her feet.

"I love you Brit." Santana tells her suddenly, it kind of slips out. So much for not being nervous, huh?

"I love you too. What's going on?" Brittany asks her girlfriend.

"I love you Britt. I think I've loved you ever since that first day of cheer camp freshman year. It took me a long time to figure out that not only did I love you, but that I was on love with you. But you always knew didn't you?" Brittany simply smiles at Santana, knowing that she doesn't need to answer the question.

"I know it sounds dramatic when I say you are my life, but you are. The end of the world teaches you a lot. And you are what has kept me alive this long. Hoping that I would be able to find you once again. And I did. What are the odds that we both survived this long? That you were so close to dying, yet here you are. With me. I don't want to waste any more time." Santana drops to one knee in front of the blonde

"Brittany, there are two things I know for sure in this moment. 1 is that our time left alive is uncertain. and 2 is that I love you. I don't know how long we are going to live, but what i do know is I want to spend whatever life I have left knowing that you are mine and I am yours. Brittany Susan Pierce, will you spend the rest of our days being mine?" Brittany wipes at the tears in her eyes and smiles down at Santana who is unclasping the chain from around her neck, the one that held her fathers wedding ring.

"Of course I will." Brittany breathes, she let the tears fall down her face as Santana places the necklace around her neck. Santana presses her lips against Brittany, taking the blondes waist in her hands, still worried about her injury. Brittany, on the other hand, has no qualms in hurting herself just so she can convey all the love she is feeling in that moment for the love of her life.

* * *

It's 2:30 in the morning and Rachel is lying alone in bed. Well technically she is cuddled against Joey, but Quinn is still in the lab. Quinn didn't even know that Santana and Brittany are engaged. They would have a ceremony soon, even if it isn't an 'official' marriage, Santana and Brittany wanted to exchange vows in front of all of their friends. Rachel had only been in bed for an hour or so, the celebration for the happy couple just having finished, but still her body ached for Quinn's arms to wrap around her.

The door to the bedroom creeks open quietly. Quinn is trying to sneak her way in. Joey's ears perk up at the noise, but he seems to understand Quinn is in trouble, so he just scoots closer to Rachel, forcing himself as a barrier between Quinn and Rachel.

"Hey Joe, scoot over." Quinn whispers, nudging Joey slightly to get him to move, but the dog doesn't budge.

"Joey." Quinn tries pulling at the dog, but Joey refuses to move. "What's gotten into you?"

"Leave him alone Quinn." Rachel whispers back, scaring Quinn slightly.

"Jeez Rach. You scared me. I thought you were asleep."

"Joey has kept me company all day. That doesn't change just because you need a warm body to lie on top of." Rachel huffs angrily. Quinn comes around the bed so she can get a look at Rachel's face, but of course, Rachel being childish, rolls over and instead cuddles into Joey like a teddy bear.

"Are you mad at me?" Quinn questions, sounding utterly confused.

"I guess it's wrong what they say about blondes, they're smarter than you think." Rachel says sarcastically.

Quinn walks over to her own side of the bed and lays down. She's had a long day and she isn't going to let Rachel being childish ruin her favorite part of the night: holding Rachel Berry.

"Joey. Move. Now." Quinn commands the dog, and it's the tone she uses that finally gets the dog to move to Rachel's feet. Rachel glares at Quinn and rolls over once again, so that her back is facing the blonde.

Quinn scoots all the way over, so she is spooning Rachel. Rachel does try to shrug her off a couple of times, but she ends up giving in, melting into the embrace.

"You're hiding something from me." Rachel whispers sadly. Quinn can't help but feel guilty at these words, because it is true. She is hiding something, but it's for her own good.

"I'm sorry I ignored you all day." Of course Quinn knew why Rachel is mad at her. Quinn is a girl after all, she knows what hurt Rachel's feelings. Rachel may be a bad ass, but she is still a vulnerable girl with feelings.

"Santana and Brittany are engaged." Rachel tells Quinn, she can feel the blonde's smile against her neck.

"They are?" Then she frowns, realization hitting her. She missed it because she was locked in the lab.

"I'm sorry I missed it."

"Santana and Brittany announced it and then we celebrated. Sam was so happy for Britt and Santana. Blaine and Kurt were holding each other. Jake and Marley were kissing. Puck and Maggie were totally eye fucking." Quinn chuckles lightly at this, but she knows Rachel is trying to make a point by noting all of this so she stops. "Even Finn and Alison were holding hands. Daryl, Kitty, Aidan, and Brody found some champagne, and where was I? I was sitting next to Mike. Do you know how depressing it is to celebrate the engagement of some of your best friends sitting next to another friend who just buried his girlfriend? I wanted to celebrate and be happy with you, but you were locked in that lab and... I missed you." Rachel lets all her stubbornness slide off of her, instead turning around in Quinn's arms to face her.

"I've been working on something with Decker. Something important. I promise you we'll tell you all tomorrow." Rachel doesn't look too excited about having to wait another day before finding out what Quinn has been hiding.

"Promise?" Rachel asks, instead of arguing. Fighting with Quinn is pointless, all she wants to do is to hold the blonde and kiss her and feel her.

"Yes. Right now, I just want to be here with you." Quinn tells her. Rachel smiles at this, kissing at the hollow of Quinn's neck.

"I can agree to this."

* * *

The next morning Quinn has her group all gathered in a new room that none of them has ever been in. It kind of looks like nasa's headquarters. There is one giant screen in the front of the room, and there are desks and rows of chairs surrounding it. Dr. Decker isn't too excited about sharing all of his research just yet, but agrees to because Quinn insisted.

He is about to show them a video of a test subject dying inside of an MRI, one who had been infected by the Cadaver virus when Quinn notices a huge timer next to the screen. It is counting down to something, and it doesn't sit well with Quinn.

"Decker?" Quinn interrupts his introduction, Rachel looks like she wants to slap Quinn for interrupting the presentation. Decker turns his attention to Quinn and follows her line of sight. He sighs, looking defeated.

"What is that counting down to?" Everyone else looks at the red numbers counting down.

"It's for the generators." Brody explains, almost unsure. There are only a few hours until it reaches to zero.

"Dr. Decker?" Quinn tries again, ignoring Brody, but Decker won't even look her in the eye. That is when she knows something is wrong.

"AIDA, what is the timer counting down to?" Everyone looks at Quinn like she is crazy until the robotic female voice explains.

"A high-impulse thermobaric fuel-air explosive goes off. It consists of a two-stage aerosol ignition which produces a blast wave of significantly greater power and duration than any other known explosive except nuclear. The vacuum-pressure effect ignites the oxygen between 5,000 and 6,000 degrees and is used when the greatest loss of life and damage to structures is desired."

Everyone looks around, stunned. They understood what the computer had said for the most part, but they aren't quite sure if they're right. They just know that it's bad.

"Dumb it down for me, AIDA." Quinn asks the computer in a desperate tone, almost begging for her suspicions to be proved wrong.

"It sets the air on fire." The robot explains simply. And the whole world seems to shatter around her.

* * *

**I know I usually update Sunday night or monday morning after TWD, but my mom surprised me this weekend and stayed in town a couple of days. She took me out to celebrate my 21st birthday even though it is 2 weeks away. Anyway, there is only 1 maybe 2 chapters left to this, but I will be working on a sequel.**

**Thank you all for the reviews so far. And I would like to thank those who leave reviews in spanish. It makes me feel special getting reviews in two languages. Muchas Gracias!**

**Hope you all enjoyed it.**

**What do you think? -A**


	17. TS17

"What the hell Quinn. Is this why you've been stuck in that lab?"

"Tell me you didn't know this."

"What does that mean?"

All the frantic questions were being directed at Quinn. She is too just learning about this, do they honestly think she could keep something this bag from her group? Her family?

People are starting to freak out, panicking at the news. Quinn turns to look at Rachel, hoping that her girlfriend didn't honestly think she had been keeping something like this from her. But Rachel isn't looking at Quinn. Rachel is staring intently at Decker, who is watching the chaos ensue, he looks lost.

"SHUT UP!" Sue roars, shotgun in hand. She cocks it and looks around at everyone menacingly. For a second Quinn thinks her coach has gone crazy. And the terrified look on everyones faces proves that everyone else fears the same thing.

Sue pushes her way through the crowd, and again, Rachel does nothing. It's like she is processing this information. Her and Puck seem to be on the same page, just watching to see what is going on. Both look calm. Quinn feels anything but that.

"What is this you are going on about Decker?" Sue points the gun right at the mans head, but he doesn't look scared. Instead he looks at the gun with a sort of anger.

"Do any of you have any idea where you are standing? We are in the CENTER FOR DISEASE CONTROL." He stresses each word. "We store deadly strains of viruses. We keep them away from the public. Weaponized small pox! Ebola strains that can wipe half of the country!" Everybody stares at the man in shock, he has yet to lose his temper, he seemed like such a laid back man.

"We kept it away from the public. What happens in 2 hours you ask? This place implodes, destroying all of those deadly stuff we have in here." Gradually Sue has lowered her gun, no longer pointing it at Decker. She looks around at the group, defeated and looking guilty.

"Along with everyone in it right?" Rachel asks the man in a measured voice. Decker looks up at her and nods.

"Then let us out." Finn asks the man desperately. Decker looks completely off-put by Finn's begging.

"You've been out there. You know how bad it is, yet you want to leave?" Decker asks them curiously.

"We want to live." Puck counters him, stepping up. Daryl and a few of the other men walk over to one of the sealed doors, pounding against it, hoping to get it open.

"This will be quick and painless. You won't feel a thing." Decker argues, almost pleading with them. Rachel follows Puck, calmly, but instead of stopping at his side she stalks right up to Sue and pulls the gun from her hands. Aiming it at Decker.

"Open the door." She tells him evenly. He shakes his head and looks over at the sealed door where Jake and Daryl are busy trying to open it by smashing things.

"Once we hit the 24 hour mark there was no way to open it. The little energy the generators have are being rationed. AIDA explain." The man stares down the barrel of the gun, he doesn't fear death. Rachel knows what that means: He is the most dangerous kind of person.

"All of the energy is being stored to keep the lab on to the last possible second. House lights should be turning off in 1 hour." The voice explains. This doesn't phase Rachel instead she points the gun at one of the computers and fires off the weapon.

"Open the door." She tells him in the same measured voice.

"Dr. Decker you never told any of us about this." Brody, his right hand man cuts in, looking just as frantic as the rest of the group.

"I found no need for it. I, from the kindness of my heart, let you in. I am the only one left. And like the captain of the Titanic. I will be going down with my ship." Decker explains, looking over at the fried computer with pain.

Some of the girls can be heard sobbing, while others are busy gathering items together, having disappeared from the room. Daryl and Finn return with all of their weapons, handing them back to it's owners.

"AIDA open the door." Quinn calls out helplessly.

"I'm afraid that cannot be done, Quinn Fabray." Rachel glances back at Quinn and nods, appreciating the effort. But Rachel offers no words of comfort to her girlfriend. She is in one state of mind: survival mode. And all she wants to do is get Quinn out safely.

"What were you discussing in the lab?" Puck demands pressing his handgun firmly against Decker's temple. Rachel looks over at Puck gratefully, glad that someone still has their head on straight. This is still important information that they need to know.

Decker stands slowly, keeping his arms raised to show that he is not going for a weapon. When he reaches for a drawer Puck loads a bullet into the chamber.

"I'm going to show you." Decker tells them slowly. He pulls out what looks like an aluminum pencil case and holds it up for everyone to see.

"AIDA please show them TS17." A projector turns on to show them what looks like an MRI scan of a human brain.

"Test Subject 17 volunteered herself." Decker goes on to explain, a look of pain flashes his eyes as he explains. He knew this test subject personally.

"What's happening?" Santana asks, standing firmly in front of Brittany protectively. Sam at their side, loyally.

"She's dying." Marley answers in a whisper, staring up at the screen. The brain scan is showing the human brain, it lights up like a Christmas tree, showing off all of the neurons firing off, but slowly the lights dim.

"TS17 was one of the brightest minds I ever knew. And this virus, it destroyed that beautiful mind." Decker's voice is choked up as he stares up a the screen longingly.

"When she- When TS17 showed signs of being infected with the Cad Virus she volunteered herself to record her final moments. Once you die, your brain shuts off." Just as he says this the lights illuminating the brains shut off.

"But The Cad virus is smart. It starts it back up again. The resurrection time varies. We aren't sure why. The shortest recorded time is 3 minutes. Some of them take longer."

"47 minutes, give or take." Mike calls out in a broken voice. Everyone turns to look at Mike. Only Daryl had known that Mike watched Tina turn into one of those things. This is all new information for everyone. Which means Mike had to be the one to end her life for a second time.

"TS17 took 8 hours 7 minutes and 42 seconds" Decker looks over at Mike sympathetically like he shares the same pain. "AIDA fast forward to the event." The image doesn't move, the lifeless body portrayed on the brain scan. But the time code forwards then it stops. The stem of the brian begins to light up, but it is nowhere near as illuminated as before.

"So you're alive again?" Blaine asks, watching the body on the screen struggle.

"In a sense, but everything that makes you you is dead. Your temporal lobe-" He points over to the screen at the specific part. "Shut off. Occipital? Frontal? Parietal? All of it is shut off. Dead. Rotting away."

"It restarts the brain then?" Kurt asks, he is taking cue from Rachel and opting to be calm instead of panicking.

"Just the brain stem. It gets the up and moving. Feeding."

"But they aren't alive." Puck refuses to believe they are, especially after having killed so many.

"You tell me?" Decker gestures at the screen to the MRI where the body continues to struggle.

"It's nothing like before. Like you said, what makes us- us- It's gone." Rachel agrees with Puck. Then out of nowhere a flash streaks across the brain effectively stopping the test subject.

"What was that?" Brittany gasps. Tears are streaming down her face, her fingers play with the ring hanging from a chain around her neck.

"He shot his patient in the head." Maggie speaks out in a thick voice, looking at the screen, horrified.

"But she wasn't just a patient was she?" Rachel asks the man, but he ignores her.

"AIDA, power down the main screen and work stations."

"Powering down the main screen and work stations."

It's Sam the one who is still concentrated on the aluminum pencil case.

"So what is that then?" Sam points over at said object.

"It's what Quinn and I were going over in the lab." He opens the box, Puck flinches slightly thinking it might be the manual set off to the bomb but instead he shows them a vial of blood.

"Is that blood?" Kitty asks, Decker nods.

"It's your blood isn't it?" Rachel asks, turning to Quinn. It all make sense to the brunette now. Why Quinn has been acting so strange, How Quinn survived for so long simply lying in a bed. Rachel's survival mode suddenly clicks off. She hands the gun over to Aidan and steps right next to Quinn.

All else is forgotten but the blonde in front of her. Quinn has always represented so much to her. Quinn has been all she has ever wanted for a long time. She represented hope to Rachel. Hope that one day things could be better. And now, Quinn represented that for all of man kind.

"I ran the blood test for all of you. And for the most part, there were no surprises." Decker explains. "But just for the hell of it, I ran them through a more extensive processor. An anomaly in Quinn's blood proved to resist the CVirus."

"AIDA what does that mean?" Rachel asks the disembodied voice.

"Rachel Berry, it means that Quinn Fabray has an immunity against the Cadaver Virus. With a proper facility I believe that a vaccine can be created." Everyone turns to look at Quinn in shock. But Quinn is only focusing on Rachel.

Quinn and Rachel may have only been together for a short amount of time, but looking into Rachel's eyes now she already knows what she is thinking. Quinn already knew that Rachel would do whatever it takes to keep Quinn alive simply because she loved her. Now Rachel would take it to a whole new level. Rachel will be willing to lay her life down for Quinn. She will be willing to sacrifice anyone to keep Quinn alive. She could tell all of this by the grave look on Rachel's face. And it terrifies her.

"And you still want to blow this place up?" Finn barks, enraged with Decker. He marches right up to him, pulling the shot gun out of Aidan's arms roughly. "We have hope! Can't you see?" Finn gestures over at Quinn, and the way Rachel is holding Quinn she can't tell if he is referring to their obvious love or the fact that Quinn is immune.

"I have no choice. This place has it's time limit." Decker gestures over to the time board. 1 more hour to go.

"Isn't there somewhere else we can go?" Sam asks desperately. He will not die, not like this.

"I lost communication with everyone about a month and a half ago. I doubt there is anyone there. Even if I could get the doors opened." Decker explains, he puts away the vial of blood back into the aluminum case and sets it down. Sue quickly snatches it up.

Marley is crying loudly now, holding onto Jake tightly. They had hope, it was so close, but it would be snatched away by this man and his principles. Decker looks over at her, wanting to console her.

"Don't cry. I promise you won't feel a thing. One second you'll be here in this awful place. And the next you'll be gone. There is no need to be in this horrible world." Marley wipes at her eyes and looks at the man, already preparing to argue.

"Can't you see? We know how horrible this world is, but we have so much more than just the bad stuff. We have love." She looks over at Jake, he smiles slightly. "We have family." She looks over at Kitty. "We want to live." Decker is caught off guard by this confession.

"There has got to be a way to let us out of here." Brody pleads with Decker, but he shakes his head.

"I'm going to check out the generators." He announces. Sam, Finn, Daryl, Blaine, and Santana quickly follow. Joey trotting along right behind them when Blaine calls for him.

* * *

"Anything?" Brody calls out to the group, they each have a flashlight looking around the electrical room, but all they find is the slight hum of the few generators still up and running.

"Just a bunch of crapped out generators." Daryl grunts, upset. He kicks over some of the empty fuel cans.

"How the hell are we going to get out of here?" Sam asks, looking right at Brody. "We have weapons right? We can get the doors open." Sam suggest, and the rest of the group is already agreeing, but Brody shakes his head.

"Those doors were built to survive nuclear blasts. We will run out of ammo before we even put a dent in it."

"There has got to be a way. Can't we ask that creepy computer?" Santana asks when Brody shakes his head she follows Daryl's leads and knocks something over. "I just got Brittany back! We cannot die like animals!"

"We won't Santana, we'll figure out a way." Finn tries to calm her down, but he doesn't believe it.

"I think he is lying. I think their is a manual way to open it." Brody tells them, but he's not sure what to do with the information.

"Hey Joey! go find Quinn." Blaine calls out, appearing with the rest of he group. He too came out empty handed. Joey scampers off.

"The problem is- this man isn't afraid to die. Which means he has nothing to lose. And a man with nothing to lose won't do anything if he doesn't want to." Blaine tells them. He wants to find Kurt. That way he can spend his final moments with the love of his life.

"OPEN. THE. DOOR." Rachel smacks Decker with the gun between each word. His face is dripping blood. Everyone stares at the girl in shock. Puck knows what has to be done which is why he holds back Quinn from stopping her. Quinn can see Rachel losing her humanity with each hit to the man. With each gash that appears on his face.

"What's going on here?" Finn asks, stepping into the room.

"Anything?" Kurt asks as Blaine steps next to him. Blaine shakes his head and takes a hold of his hand, leading him away from the group so he can whisper his final goodbyes.

30 minutes left on the clock.

"Stop her!" Brody tries to demand, getting closer to Rachel, but Sam and Santana stop him.

"Please Puck, this isn't Rachel, you know this." Quinn begs him, watching the hatred in Rachel's eyes, Puck hesitates for a moment and looks like he is about to reach for Rachel when she turns to look at him.

"Noah you lay one finger on me and you will regret it." Puck nods, sometimes we don't like things we have to do, but they need to be done.

"Decker open the damn door. I am just getting started." Rachel whispers it to him, making her sound all the more menacing. Everyone else has backed away with their loved ones. No one thinks they are leaving this room.

"I can't." The man argues, shaking his head. Something in Rachel's gut tells her he's lying. And Rachel always goes with her gut.

Rachel's next move is so quick no one sees it coming, but the loud bang echoes through the room. She has pulled out the gun shooting at another computer screen. It smokes and sizzles. Decker doesn't flinch.

"OPEN THE DOOR!" She yells, Deckers blood dripping off her gun from the beating she gave him. Her knuckles swelling for the same reason. She aims for his leg now, cocking the gun back.

"I SAID OPEN THE DOOR!" The room is completely silent.

"Puck please stop her." Quinn pleads with the man, and he just might. This is getting out of hand. But he's too late.

BANG!

Decker lets out a loud scream. The bullet goes clean through his leg. He wails, clutching at it as blood pours out, but his resolve isn't broken. Rachel steps closer, her eyes cold, she presses the gun to his forehead.

"RACHEL!" Quinn desperately yells. Her voice is broken and full of tears. Puck lets go of her, staring at Rachel in shock, he has seen her do many things, but there is something different about her.

"Rachel please." Quinn cries, looking right into those cold eyes. Quinn sobs, not wanting to lose the girl she loves before they die. She wants Rachel Berry here with her, the one who loves her. The one who touches her so gently. The one who kisses her like it will always be the last time. Not this cold lifeless person. She is turning into one of those living corpses.

Rachel watches the tears stream down Quinn's face. She has never wanted to be the one to cause her pain. She can't be the reason for it. So she lets Quinn walk slowly towards her. She lets her take the gun from her hands and hand it to Noah. She allows it when she pulls her away from the scientist. The coldness that consumes her heart melts away when Quinn looks at her in that way. Just as they are going to join the rest of their group Quinn turns to look at Mitchell Decker. The man is still clutching at his leg, blood drips down his face, but he looks back at Quinn with interest.

"TS17, you loved her didn't you?" He doesn't answer, but by the way he swallows thickly Quinn has her answer. "Well I love this girl right here." Quinn lifts up Rachel's hand, their fingers interlocked. "And if your love was anything like ours is. She would be ashamed of you." She leaves the man speechless and in pain. They join the rest of the group by the doors that will hold them in this tomb.

"I apologize to all of you. If I would have known, I would have never opened the doors for you in the first place." Sue tells them in a rare moment of honesty.

"You were right baby. We didn't know how much time we had left. But I'm glad to know you're mine." Brittany stands from her wheelchair with difficulty and crashes into Santana's arms. The Latina already crying.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you guys." Sam breaks in. Brittany nods him over, telling him to join in on the group hug. Santana blindly reaches out her hand. Kurt doesn't even need to look at her to know what she wants. He holds her hand, his other arm embracing Blaine.

"It's alright guys. We won't feel anything." Mike tells them, they all look at the man for a moment, but instead busy themselves with giving their last goodbyes.

"I'm sorry I scared you." Rachel murmurs to Quinn, burying her neck into the blondes neck. Quinn squeezes her tightly, this is the Rachel she loves. The one who doesn't have to be strong for everyone. The one who isn't afraid to be vulnerable in front of her.

"Forget it. I just want to hold you right now." Quinn murmurs back.

Jake kisses Marley, trying to convey just how much he really loves her. He pulls away and pulls Kitty into the embrace. This is his family. Puck walks over to him and they look at each other, The long lost brothers do this for a moment before Puck squeezes Jakes shoulder then walks over to Rachel.

Rachel and Puck share a long embrace, but they exchange no words. They don't need to.

"Thank you Blaine. For everything." Quinn hugs the boy who helped her make it to the love of her life.

Everyone is saying their goodbyes, no one even takes notice when Finn and Alison share a quick sweet kiss before he goes around to Kurt.

What they don't notice is Mitchell Decker watching them. Watching the exchange of embraces and goodbyes, He watches the tears and hears the broken sobs. He has never witnessed so much love.

"I love you Brittany." Santana whispers before pulling her fiancé into a long lingering kiss. Sam leaves them alone for this moment, opting to join Puck and Finn. No one notes the fact that Puck holds Maggie tightly in his arms, Maggie hiding her face in his neck, softly crying.

Quinn and Rachel sit against the wall, Quinn snuggled into Rachel. Joey burrowed into Quinn's side.

"I think I always knew I loved you. Even when I agreed to marry Finn." Rachel confesses.

"I guess I had this idea in my mind that you would show up and stop the wedding." Quinn can't help but think that Rachel looks so innocent and young in this moment.

"I'd like to think I was brave enough for that. But I'm not sure. Even as I was driving, I was having that same daydream. Of bursting into city hall and pouring my hear out." Quinn chuckles lightly.

"But hey, at least I stopped the wedding." Rachel kisses the top of Quinn's head and places a finger under her chin, lifting her face to look into those hazel eyes she loves.

"I knew there was something wrong when you didn't show up. Despite our past I knew that nothing would stop you form being there. Regardless of wether you would confess your feelings." Quinn leans in to kiss Rachel. Their lips meet slowly. moving against each other as if they had been kissing all their lives.

"I love you Rachel Berry." Rachel's eyes shine with tears. This could possibly be the last time they say it to each other.

"I love you Quinn Fabray." Rachel whispers back leaning in for what could be their last kiss.

No one notices that Decker has been observing them. So none of them notice when he swivels slowly in his chair, due to all of his injuries. The don't realize that he is typing away at the computer in front of him.

But they all notice a series of loud clicks. The metal doors separate, releasing them from what could have been their tomb.

They have a chance.

* * *

**Inspiration is a beautiful thing isn't it? It can come from the most random of places. Like today, as I was walking out of class amidst twilight. It is never quiet in Los Angeles so i found it strange to walk out into silence. It literally felt like I was the last person on earth. That was how quiet it was. Then a car in the parking lot honked and it echoed eerily off of all the buildings And it just felt so post apocalyptic that I was in the mood to write.**

**Anywho... Second to last chapter for you guys. Hope you all enjoyed it.**

**Let me know what you think - A**

**P.S. Thank you all for all the killer reviews these last two weeks, seriously, you guys are so awesome!**


	18. Escape

**Warning: Character death.**

* * *

_"Rachel?" Rachel groggily wiped at her eyes, turning to look at who called her. Apparently she had fallen asleep clutching onto Quinn's hand. She sat up straightening her back. Apparently falling asleep hunched over a hospital bed caused strain in ones back. Who knew?_

_"Sweetie, I'm off to get some coffee would you like some?" Judy asked the girl kindly. Rachel had spent the last couple weeks in Judy's company after permanently calling off her wedding with Finn. She could tell that Judy knew Rachel's feelings for her daughter weren't strictly platonic, yet she hadn't kicked her out._

_"That's alright Mrs. Fabray. I'm fine thank you." Rachel smiled kindly._

_"I thought we agreed on Judy." The woman smiled giving Rachel's shoulder a squeeze._

_"Yes ma'am, I think we did." Rachel offered back, not once letting go of Quinn's hand. Rachel had been raised to respect her elders so she doesn't think she'll ever be able to call an elder by their first name. The thought alone made her slightly uncomfortable. Judy headed for the door, but stopped just before opening it._

_"Quinn is lucky." Judy stated, catching Rachel by surprise. Rachel tilted her head in question. "To have someone like you in her life." That is all she said before leaving. Was that Judy's way of expressing her blessings?_

_"She really doesn't know does she?" Rachel spoke, standing slightly from her chair to brush some of Quinn's blonde hair away from her face._

_"That I am the lucky one to have even met you." Rachel took this moment that she was alone to kiss Quinn gently on the forehead. _

_What Rachel was unaware of was Finn standing a bouquet of get well flowers in hand with Puck at his side just outside the door, watching them. Finn nodded slightly and sighed, handing the flowers over to Puck before leaving._

* * *

All that runs through Rachel's head is that one Eminem song that was so popular a few years back. One line echoes in her mind. _That's what happens when a tornado meets a volcano._

That is exactly what happens as soon as the doors open. Everyone scrambles to gather their few belongings and their loved ones and rushes to the door like bees heading to their hive. Everyone except for 2.

"We're not taking the chance of using the elevators. They could shut off on us. Stairs are right this way." Brody points over, waving them over in the right direction.

This is when people take notice to the two missing from their group. The end of the world may call for 'every man for himself', but this group is family to each other. Such saying does not exist in their world.

"Wait wait, where the hell is Mike?And Alison?" Finn is the one who asks this, halting everyone's movements. The group all look around searching for the missing faces, but they are nowhere to be found.

"We have 19 minutes to make it up 12 flights of stairs and out the front doors to safety." Brody points out desperately, he is new to this group and has yet to learn that no one leaves a man behind. He holds the door to the stairwell open anxiously, as if he might bolt any second. Even Sue seems anxious to leave, the aluminum case held tightly in her grip.

"I'll go get them you guys get out of here." Finn waves them all off. Most everybody takes incentive with his words. Sam throws Brittany over his shoulder not having the luxury of being careful with her. He, Santana, and Brittany start up the stairs with Sue in the lead, clutching the vial of blood in her hands like it is the holy grail. And for all intents and purposes, it is.

* * *

_"Hey Britt?" Santana was sitting in her fathers office, toying with the wooden box she had made for him, hoping to escape her thoughts. Not wanting to think of the possibility of Quinn never waking up._

_"Yeah?" Brittany came up behind the chair Santana was sitting in rubbing at her girlfriends tense shoulders._

_"Do you believe in fate?" Santana often had conversations about deep thoughts with her girlfriend. Brittany alway proved to have a unique perspective._

_"In what sense?" Brittany asked, swiveling the chair around so she could face her girlfriend._

_"I don't know, fate in general." Santana shrugged, her thoughts hadn't been leaning on the optimist side of the scale these days, but then again, when did they ever?_

_"I don't think everything happens for a reason. If that's what you're asking. I don't think Quinn getting hurt like this has a reason. Even if it means Rachel suddenly knows she's in love with Quinn." Santana hums and nods, she has come to the same conclusion too._

_"But I do believe it is in someone's fate the find the love of their lives." Brittany smiles and leans over to kiss Santana. Santana in turn smiles wickedly and pulls Brittany to her, forcing the blonde to straddle her._

_"Am I the love of your life?" Santana asks playfully, biting at Brittany's lip. Brittany pulls away enough to look into Santana's eyes to give her a 'duh' look. Then leans in and takes Santana's lips with her own. Guiding her tongue into her girlfriend mouth- That is until the office door opens._

_"Really girls?" Manuel Lopez asks in an exasperated voice, it isn't the first time he has caught Santana and Brittany in a compromising position._

_"Papi!" Santana complains in a groan as Brittany extracts herself from Santana's lap._

_"Sorry Doctor Lopez." Brittany giggles. Manuel can't help but smile at the blush on Santana's face and the goofy smile on Brittany's. He ruffles the blondes hair affectionately._

_"It doesn't bother me as long as I don't see it. Why is that?" He asks the girls with ease._

_"Because girls can't get girls pregnant." Brittany and Santana recite from memory. Santana's blush darkens, glaring at her father._

_"I just came to put my ring away." Manuel shows it as proof before handing it off to his daughter to put in the small wooden box. Santana does so then looks at her father expectantly._

_"Anything else?" She asks. Manuel chuckles and opens the door to his office to usher the girls out._

_"Yeah, not in my office." Santana rolls her eyes and takes Brittany's hand._

_"This is a hospital, papi. There are lots of empty rooms with beds." Manuel shakes his head, his daughter will one day be the cause of a heart attack._

* * *

"Run Joey! Go!" Quinn gestures for the dog to run up the stairs she holds Rachels hand tightly in hers. She knows Rachel and if it were up to the brunette, Quinn wold be following her best friends up the stairs. Joey is much like his owner, and refuses to leave without her.

"Blaine Kurt, you too!" The only reason Quinn hasn't followed behind her friend is because she is holding tightly onto Rachel's hand and Rachel is waiting for Puck to move, but he won't leave without Finn. And neither will Jake apparently.

Blaine looks torn, not wanting to leave his friends behind, but Kurt is his number one priority. The same goes for Kurt, so the boys look at each other and usher Joey up the stairs ahead of them. Joey is more human than ever in this moment, staring intently at Quinn before running up ahead, as if promising to keep Blaine safe for her.

* * *

_"Kurt let's go!" Blaine calls out in a hurry._

_"Geez Blaine, it's not the end of the world. I'm almost done." Kurt smiles at Blaine through the reflection in the mirror._

_"I know you're just trying to lighten up the mood, but Rachel needs us. So does Quinn." Kurt sighs, he doesn't want to think of Quinn possibly dying on that operating table. They had gotten the word that she was in an accident and that was why she didn't show up to the wedding. Kurt had never seen Rachel look so devastated._

_"I couldn't show up at the hospital in a tux Blaine." Kurt tells him, tears welling up in his eyes._

_"I know Kurt." Blaine wraps his arms around Kurt from behind. He kisses his cheek._

_"It didn't stop Rachel though." Kurt adds in a sad whisper. The image of a distraught Rachel running out of city hall in her wedding dress still stuck in his head._

_"I guess it was my fault for joining you in the shower." Blaine tries lightening up the mood again. _

_"Does that make us awful people? Our friend could die today, my brother just lost the love of his life to his ex girlfriend, and Rachel just very well may lose the girl she loves, and we were having shower sex?" Kurt looks honestly heart broken. Blaine shakes his head and holds Kurt tighter._

_"No it doesn't Kurt. It means that we realized how fragile life is. And we wanted to make the most of it. And now we are going to support our friends. I think we should stop by Rachel's first though. Maybe get her a change of clothes?" Blaine offers, pulling away from Kurt so he can offer his hand. Kurt takes it with a sad smile._

_"I love you Blaine." Kurt whispers._

_"I love you too Kurt."_

* * *

"Kitty! Marley! Go!" Jake bellows not bothering to be gentle with his girlfriend. Marley has tears flowing freely down her face, not wanting to leave, but Kitty takes a hold of Marley and shoves her to the stairs. Brody deliberates for only a moment more then runs up the stairs.

"C'MON!" Daryl waves over, gesticulating wildly with the crossbow in his hand. He may be new to this group, but he felt an unspoken bond between some of them. A loyalty to Rachel for saving his life. A need to protect her girl for the same reason.

Puck stares right into Rachel's eyes, begging her to leave without him, but he must know it's a futile attempt. If the situation were reversed he would not leave Rachel behind. So he looks at Quinn, hoping to prey of his partners weakness.

"Get Quinn to safety." Rachel's hard stare breaks for a second, she glances over at Quinn, but the blonde simply holds on to Rachel's with a tighter grip. Puck must know that they aren't going anywhere. If anyone here has a weird bond it is the whole Hudson-Puckerman-Berry-Fabray thing they have. Not one will leave without the others.

* * *

_"Did you ever believe we would be friends again? Doing stuff like this?" Puck asks handing Finn a beer. After having witnessed Rachel and Quinn together Puck knew exactly where Finn would head to. They sit under the bleachers at the football field._

_"Honestly? No. After I found out about you and Quinn. It just- I never felt so betrayed." Finn tells him before taking a long gulp from his beer._

_"Yeah , I'm sorry -" Finn waves off Puck's apology._

_"Lets just forget about that ok?" Finn asks, not wanting to think about one of the hardest times in his life._

_"Sure thing dude." Then Puck begins to chuckle._

_"What's up?" Finn asks after another large gulp of beer._

_"You do realize that we both dated Rachel and Quinn and they're like totally in love with each other." Finn can't help but laugh at this as well._

_"Chicks man." Finn laughs, shaking his head. "They can't figure out their feelings, so they date us instead." Puck nods along._

_"A couple of years ago I would have said one of us turned them gay." Puck jokes, knowing that that isn't the case._

_"A couple of years ago, I would have said it was you." Finn teases back._

_"Good thing we grew up right?" Puck adds after a couple of good laughs._

_"Good thing." Finn agrees. "We grew up and we're still bros. Who would have thought?"_

_"Pssh I knew it. Bros for life." Puck raises his beer enthusiastically._

_"Bros for life." Finn echoes, clinking his bottle to Puck's._

* * *

So instead Puck turns to Daryl, a man that he has come to respect and knows will step up if they don't make it out.

"Daryl take Maggie and go. We're right behind you!" Puck doesn't even look at the girl in question. Almost as if he can't bare to. Daryl groans, but then grabs a hold of Maggie's waist and drags her towards the stairs. She fights against his hold, but Daryl is strong, and if he can save one person then he isn;t going to let anything stop him.

"Wait! Daryl let me go! Puck! Guys!" Maggie's voice drones out as the door closes.

"Jake. Go." Puck is so firm with his words there is no room for argument, but his brother is a Puckerman after all. He wants to argue, and even opens his mouth to do so, but instead the brothers look straight into each others eyes. Somehow they are able to communicate just by looking in each other's eyes.

"Fuck." Jake mutters and nods once at his brother, before heading up the stairs.

This whole deliberating feels like it is taking forever and that they are wasting time, but in reality mere seconds have ticked by deciding who will stay behind to save Mike and Alison.

"Quinn, please go!" Rachel begs. Finn and Puck have already gone back to the work station room to retrieve both Alison and Mike. Quinn and Rachel are both having a staring contest. Challenging. Time is ticking. This stare down takes longer than the time it took to get everyone in the stairwell.

" I am not leaving without you." Quinn is firm, the tear tracks still fresh on her face. Rachel doesn't know what to do. She doesn't want a world where Quinn doesn't exist, but she is also very aware that Sue took a vial of Quinn's blood in hopes of finding a cure.

"Please Quinn." Rachel begs one more time. But Quinn shakes her head firmly, fresh tears flowing down her face.

"I'm not leaving you now that I have you. We're wasting time just staring at each other." Quinn's voice is thick, she wipes her tears away and tries to be strong. Showing that she is strong. That Rachel isn't the only one who can save and protect the people she loves. Rachel smiles tightly and nods, allowing it pass even though it is the last thing she wants to be doing.

* * *

"Mike c'mon dude we have to go!" Puck tries to tug at his friend, but Mike won't budge. He sits on one of the work station chairs, hunched over, ready for all of this to be over.

"Alison, please." Finn tries to ask the girl, to plead with her, but she is as firm as Mike in the decision of staying there. They no longer want to fight. Finn wants her to go, it's the first person he has truly had a connection with in a while. He can't just let her give up without giving her a reason to keep going.

"I'm sorry Finn. I'm so tired of fighting to keep alive. Decker said it would be painless. Right Doctor?" Decker is bent over the desk, staring at a picture of a woman in a lab coat. He hums, but barely registers the other people in the room.

"This isn't the way to do it. You can't just give up." Finn pleads with the girl.

"Mike dude, please." Mike has made his choice though. So he is trying to shove his friends away. He doesn't want his friends to die because he no longer wants to live.

"Puck, Finn go!" Mike shoves Puck towards the door desperately.

"We aren't leaving without you." Puck shoves him back.

"I can't do this without her. Hoping Tina was alive was what kept me alive. I lost her. I miss her." Mike chokes out, Puck advances towards his old friend again, but Mike shakes his head in warning.

* * *

_"Tina!" Mike bursts into the theatre where Tina is quietly practicing a song._

_"What? what's wrong?" Tina asks suddenly worried. Mike hardly ever bursts through doors._

_"Nothing!" Mike smiles, quickly hopping onto the stage and wrapping his arms around his girlfriend so he can spin her around the stage. Tina laughter rings throughout the stage._

_"What has gotten into you?" Tina asks once Mike has let her down. He reaches into his back pocket and pulls out a folded up sheet of paper. He hands it over to Tina._

_" Congratulations! You have been accepted for admission to TISCHE School of the Arts- Mike! That is amazing!" Tina launches into his arms to kiss him._

_"It's all thanks to you Tina! You believed in me." Mike tells her before leaning in for another kiss._

_"I'll always believe in you Mike." Tina tells her boyfriend honestly._

_"I love you so much."_

* * *

"She wouldn't want you to give up." Puck argues, not wanting to leave his friend behind. He glances back at the analog clock counting down to their demise. 15 minutes.

"DON'T!" Mike shoves Puck so hard that the man lands on his ass. "DON'T YOU DARE TELL ME WHAT TINA WOULD LIKE!" Mike is openly crying not caring to keep up the bravado of a man.

"I can't- I just - I can't. Don't make me responsible for your death. Don't put your death on me too." Mike whispers his plea. Puck stares up at the man from the ground. Finn has also stopped pleading with Alison in order to deal with Mike.

"It's not your fault Mike." Finn tells his friend in a whisper, his voice can not come up with anything louder. If he had known that Mike had been feeling this the last couple of days he would have talked to his friend. He could be preventing this whole situation right now.

"You guys have still have Rachel and Quinn and Santana and Brittany and Kurt and Blaine and Sam and your brother, Puck. You guys still have people. And they are my family too. But Tina, she was my forever. And I just can't ok?" Mike looks so broken and lost, and even if they knocked him out and pulled him to safety Mike is no longer Mike. Just the shell of the man they used to know.

Just then Quinn and Rachel burst into the room out of breath.

"Noah, Finn, Mike, Alison, let's go." By the slight shake of Puck's head they already know the answer. Rachel checks the clock. 13 minutes. She can't leave without a final goodbye. Quinn rushes over to Mike and hugs the man tightly. Then makes her way over to Alison and does the same. They shouldn't be wasting their time with goodbyes, but it really isn't a waste.

"Thanks for saving her body." Mike cries into Rachel's shoulder. "Take care of your girl." Finn and Puck have already said their goodbyes and are waiting for Quinn and Rachel at the door. Rachel is making her way towards the boys when she stops, realizing Quinn hasn't followed.

Quinn isn't sure what she is doing standing behind the man who almost killed her family, but she knows this man is confused and lost. So she places a gentle hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you." Quinn whispers. She notices the tears splashing down on the photo of what she assumes was his wife. The man had lost his love and that could drive people to insanity. Quinn didn't even want to imagine losing Rachel.

"Goodbye AIDA." Quinn calls out to the computer as they make their way to the stairs. Even though they are running and the sadness of leaving two friends behind has consumed them, they can still hear the computer.

"Good Luck, Quinn Fabray, Rachel Berry, Noah Puckerman, and Finn Hudson."

* * *

Sam can hardly breathe, huffing his way up the stairs. Brittany isn't heavy but the task of climbing up stairs is already tough without having to lug a body over his shoulder. Especially not with Santana yelling at him to run faster.

"HURRY YOUR FAT ASS UP WHITE CHOCOLATE!" Santana truly is one of a kind. She's able to insult the man carrying the love of her life to safety by making a joke of his stripper past, all while fearing for their lives.

* * *

_Sam sits in front of a computer, in awe of Mercedes performance. He has been recording some of Mercedes' performance so he can upload them onto youtube._

_"Hey what are you doing?" Mercedes walks into the library, trying to get a better look at Sam's screen. Sometimes it sucks to be poor. He would do this on his own laptop if he could. Sam quickly exits out of the browser._

_"You aren't watching porn are you?" Mercedes asks her boyfriend skeptically._

_"WHAT? NO!" Sam exclaims a bit loudly._

_"SHHHH." She librarian shushes him._

_"It was a joke Sam. You okay?" Mercedes laughs, taking a seat next to Sam._

_"Yeah, it's just I have a surprise for you, but it's not ready yet." Sam confesses knowing how Mercedes is she'll just pester him until he gives her something._

_"A surprise?" Mercedes asks curiously._

_"Yeah, I just- I want to help make your dreams come true." Mercedes gaze softens. She really does love Sam._

_"You're really something else Sam Evans." Sam brightens at this._

_"I love you, you know that?" Sam tells Mercedes. Mercedes smiles and nods before pecking Sam on the lips._

_"Love you too."_

* * *

Everyone else has shot ahead, even Jake who was the last one up the stairs. Leaving Santana, Brittany, and Sam in the stairwell. They need one more flight when they hear people enter the stairwell from below.

Santana can't help but feel relief knowing Rachel, Quinn, Puck, Finn, and Mike are not far behind (she really didn't bother about caring for Alison at the moment). Just as they reach the ground floor they are met with a hysterical group trying to break open one of the bullet proof glass windows. Nothing seems to be working even though they have all shot at it.

"What are we going to do?" Marley asks in a shriek. She fires her weapon at the window only causing it to crack slightly.

"Don't you have some sort of explosive?" Maggie asks Brody desperately, but the man shakes his head.

"Kitty your grenade!" Santana yells holding out her hand so she can catch the explosive like a baseball. Kitty doesn't hesitate to toss the grenade to Santana. She steps right against the glass and looks outside where walkers seem to be gathering.

"GET BACK!" Santana orders, everyone listens, taking cover behind pillars. She pulls out the pin and lets go of the grenade right against the glass. Then she makes a run for it. The explosion goes off before she can properly take cover, so it does knock her off her feet slightly but she is able to stand quickly. Nothing is going to stop her from getting the people she loves to safety.

"GO GO GO!" Sue orders waving them out the broken window. Daryl and Joey are the first who make it outside. Joey makes a beeline for the RV while Daryl begins to clear the area of Biters.

The group almost forget the stench of death that permeates the air. They had been locked underground and gotten accustomed to the stale air that a few actually gag when stepping outside.

All the commotion that had been going on inside the CDC can be heard outside. And walkers are beginning to gather. Daryl, Sue, Blaine, and Aidan are trying to clear the way for everyone to get through, but there are just too many of them.

Marley, Jake, and Kitty are the first to make it to the vehicles, the trio pull out their weapons, hoping to clear the area of the zombies. They had forgotten how grotesque some of these bodies were. Chunks of flesh missing from their bodies, organs spilling out, limbs missing. The growls of the undead, antsy for a taste of human flesh.

* * *

_"You know I guess one thing has improved since the end of the world." Ryder tells the group. Him, Kitty, Jake, and Marley all lay in the grass looking at the night sky. _

_"You can see the stars a whole lot better." Their heads are all close together, forming a circle._

_"I hate to agree with dumb ass over here, but he's right." Kitty agrees, looking up at the stars._

_"What do you guys miss from before?" Marley asks her friends, before the infection she hadn't had many friends, that is one thing that has changed._

_"Pizza" Jake responds automatically. Ryder agrees._

_"Bad reality television." Kitty adds with a laugh._

_"Internet." Ryder throws in._

_"I actually kinda miss school." Marley cuts in quietly. Her friends boo her, they quickly have to shush each other to stay quiet._

_"Maybe not so much school, but voice lessons were awesome. I had a friend who was a little intense but she was really nice. I wonder what happened to her."_

_"I try not to wonder what happen to people. The probability of them being alive sucks." Jake adds the morbid thought. His moms face pops into his mind._

_"Want to know what I miss? Decent Sex." Kitty adds in hopes of lightening the mood. The group laughs only to be surprised by Marley's answer._

_"I don't. I have plenty of that." They all guffaw with laughter, Marley is never this candid._

_"Gross guys." Kitty says, though her laughter proves she is teasing._

_"You know what else is better since the end of the world?" Marley adds._

_"What?" Kitty asks, still laughing._

_"Friendships are better."_

* * *

In the last moments before the explosion, everything seems to happen in slow motion. Brody takes down 2 walkers in time to see Maggie in distress. He saves her from 3 biters that were closing in on her.

Kurt is leading Sue and Aidan back to the RV, ordering one of them to get behind the wheel and to be prepared for when they have to leave. He turns around just in time to watch Blaine take down a walker, only to be unprepared for the one behind him.

The gun is knocked out of his hands, and he staggers backwards, the walker struggling to get a bite out of Blaine. He struggles, but uses his bare hands to keep the chomping mouth away from him. Kurt lifts his gun to aim at the walker but in the struggle he could very well shoot Blaine instead.

"Blaine!" Kurt cries, falling to his knees, he feels it's too late. Joey lunges forward, but even in his state of shock and sadness he can't let the dog go. He grabs at the dog, sobbing into him and screeching for Blaine.

Blaine stumbles back, the zombie landing right on top of him. Daryl catches sight of the distraught Kurt and turns his head in search for Blaine, but he doesn't see him.

"C'mon boy, take cover." Daryl orders, taking hold of the back o Kurt's collar and pulling him behind some of the sand bags behind a machine gun. Kurt doesn't dare let go of Joey, the dog may be the last piece of Blaine he can hold on to. His eyes glued to the zombie on top of what he assumes is Blaine's body.

Sam lunges down the steps of the CDC as fast as he can, but he knows it's nowhere near fast enough. Brittany whimpers with every step he takes, he knows he is hurting her, but he can't afford to go any slower.

Santana knows they won't make it to the RV in time to take cover, but she will not abandon Brittany or Sam. She points over to one of the other pits holding a machine gun. Shoving Sam in that direction. He sets Brittany down, knowing the explosion will happen any second now. Santana hovers over Brittany, shielding her from any harm, and looks over the bags of sand towards the gaping hole in the glass window.

"C'mon, c'mon." Santana whispers impatiently. She finds herself praying for the first time in a long time.

"Santana duck!" Sam orders pulling her down behind the bags of sand. Just before her view is obstructed though, she manages to catch sight of figures emerging from the building. She wasn't able to catch how many, but she feels relief flood her and turns to smile at Sam and down at Brittany.

"They're out." Santana breathes, but is only allowed a moment of comfort, for the explosion goes off.

It seems to shake the whole city with a force that can only be compared to an earthquake. The heat radiates out from the building, and Sam can swear his eyebrows are singed even though he is nowhere near an actual flame. And for a moment all anyone can hear is a very distinct ringing in their ears.

And then, the world is quiet.

* * *

_**Excerpt from Sequel**_

The interstate is jam packed. Congested with cars. Some of them have the doors wide open. Others are locked. Just down the way is an RV completely out of fuel. Next to it is a truck and a motorcycle.

Just around the RV is a group of teenagers scavenging the vehicles around it. Hoping to gather food, clothes, and fuel.

"Britt you shouldn't be walking." Santana comments to her girlfriend.

"It feels good to stretch out. Help me out with this?" Brittany gestures to the truck she has stopped in front of. Santana nods lifting the door to reveal huge jugs of water. Santana checks the side of the vehicle to see a sun faded _arrowhead_ logo. Santana laughs and plants a loud kiss to Brittany's lips.

"You are a genius." Santana express loudly, popping off one of the caps on the jugs that lays in it's side. The water pours out onto both of the girls, showering them in warm water.

Kurt admires the sight of the happy girl from on top of the RV. He's not quite sure why he all of people was put in charge of keeping look out, but he doesn't mind, in this heat he rather just sit a top the RV in a lawn chair working on his tan.

"Hey Santana! Look what I found!" Kitty calls out, tossing over a bag of _munchies_ to the wet girl. Santana grins over at the blonde. Not fifteen minutes ago had she been saying she had a hankering for this particular snack.

"You're alright Kitty." Santana approves, Kitty raises her eyebrows at the girl everyone knows the Lopez stamp of approval is worth gold.

Two voices are suddenly heard arguing just down the way. It started as a small argument that has turned into a full blown fight.

"Will someone tell them to shut up?" Kitty asks, annoyed, earning herself a slight glare from Santana. "Hey you know I'm right." Santana huffs, Kitty is right. They could attract walkers.

"They're trying to work some things out." Marley tries to defend her friends, but even she is wincing at their volume.

"I got this." Brody volunteers, earning questioning looks from the group. He is the new guy he doesn't 'got' anything.

"Dude back off." Daryl cuts in, being a bit over protective. Brody rolls his eyes.

"Do you want to ask them to lower their voices?" Daryl looks over at the pair arguing. He shakes his head and backs off. He doesn't have a death sentence.

"Nah, knock yourself out." Daryl smiles at his wording, the man just might get knocked out by intervening.

"He's going to get himself decked in the face." Jake comments rummaging through the trunk of a car.

Kurt momentarily distracted by the commotion has looked away from the interstate, but when he does turn back he sees something that he can't quite place. He looks into the scope of his gun and blanches at the sight. A walker is headed their way. He is just about to take it down with a single bullet, assuming his accuracy is as good as he thinks, when he sees another walker just beyond the others shoulder. Then another and another.

Kurt quickly presses his body down against the top of the RV.

"Get down!" He hisses to his group, but none of them have herd him. If he says it any louder he will give their position away.

Just a half a mile out, what looks like a herd of Walkers is headed their way.

* * *

**So the death toll: Mike Chang - Alison- Mitchell Decker - Will Schuester- Emma Pillsberry- Mercedes Jones- Tina Cohen-Chang - Artie Abrams- Shannon Bieste - ?**

**So what did you guys think? This is my second completed fic, and man does it feel good!**

**I know I left it on a sort of cliffhanger and you guys might just want to kill me, BUT before you do, remember this is indeed a Faberry fic. And I do not kill off characters without proper goodbyes, so take that how you will.**

**Thank you all for sticking with this fic, I might take a short break to work on my other fic, but I also said I would post this after tonights TWD so who knows? Maybe tonights episode will inspire the first chapter of the sequel which is yet to be named.**

**I'd like to thank EVERY SINGLE PERSON who has left a review. You guys are awesome! A special thanks to Harley Quinn Davidson, fridaglee17, gllover22, and agirl00z for commenting on every chapter without fail.**

**So I have created a tumblr for you guys to check out of you'd like. I will be posting songs and other stuff to help guide the sequel and perhaps my other fics here it is:**

**write-about-us-alex **._tumblr _.

**Thank you all again! -A**


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